It's Time To Jumpstart 2008!

I hope you've enjoy your time with family and friends celebrating your NewYear festivities, but it's also time to have your new goals in place for 2008.

Many people think they have goals for the new year, but they don't write them down. They have them in their head, but when it's time to put the plan in action, they really don't know what all of the steps are to achieve them.

Step #1: Write down the income amount you want to achieve this year or the number of transactions you want to close.

Step #2: Write down the action steps needed to achieve your goals.

Step #3: Break down into 90-day segments. You need to focus on the short-term more than the long-term.

As an entrepreneur, you have strengths and weaknesses. How are you at following up, at time management, at detail paperwork, at marketing, etc? Give more attention to your strengths and delegate your weaknesses for others to complete on your behalf.

I recently ran across a free web site that allows you to keep track of your goals.

Go to: www.joesgoals.com. Don't be fooled by the web site name. It's a great site. I'm just starting to use it too.

What are your Top 5 goals for the next 90 days?

Post them on www.joesgoals.com and do them every day. You can create action steps to be done daily or weekly. This will allow you to have your goals in front of you every day.

If you're consistently hitting your goals, then increase your numbers, so that you have something more challenging to go after. You may want to add 20% to your goals. You need to push yourself. If you're too comfortable, you may end up getting bored and stop doing them.

Do you want to take the next step with your goals?

Then tell others your goals - it's called the "Embarrassment Factor". If you don't consistently do the needed activities, then your family, friends and co-workers will be able to see you're not doing what you said you would do.

Now when you achieve your goals every week and month, you need to give yourself a reward. So set up a rewards system. Do something or buy something for yourself. You need to dangle a carrot in front of you for those times when you don't want to do what you said you needed to do.

Now go to www.joesgoals.com and let's see how it works for you.

Keep me posted on your success!

Again, have a safe and Happy New Year tonight!

To your success,

Dan

What's your BIGGEST FRUSTRATION in your business? E-mail me at: dan@agentsuccesscoach.com

All content copyrighted © 2007 - Dan Weis, Agent Success Coach

Finding A Needle In A Haystack!

Have you ever represented a buyer, who you just couldn't seem to find what they were looking for?

They wanted to live in a particular school district and there were only 3 subdivisions they wanted.

You kept waiting for new listings to come on the market to show.

Days turned into weeks, which turned into months...and still the right property was not found.

Then one day the perfect house came on the market, but OH NO, the sellers accepted an offer before your buyers could go see it.

You're so frustrated, because you've lost out again and now you'll have to wait some more.

Well, I have a great remedy for your situation and it's called "Needle In A Haystack" Buyer System.

You design a simple 3x5 postcard in a WORD doc (4-up on a page) and mail it to every homeowner in the areas your buyers want to move to.

Now you don't send out 2,000 postcards, but if the neighborhoods have a couple hundred homes in them, that would be ideal.

On the postcard (with your client's permission), you want to state that you have a bonafide, pre-approved buyer, who is looking for a 4-bedroom 2-story in _____ area and if they've considered making a move, you'd like to show their home to see if it meets your client's needs. As far as what else you put on the postcard, you always have to focus on "W.I.I.F.M." - What's In It For Me.

You need to hit the prospective seller's HOT BUTTONS!

Only use words that will motivate the potential seller to call back to get more information from you. There's no other reason for the postcard. Don't put your website, email address, etc on the postcard - only your direct phone number. You only want them to call you for more information. A confused mind won't do anything.

(Don't do this strategy unless you have a real client.)

You'll also want to put your name, company name and one phone number, preferably your cell phone. You don't want to add any fluff or a whole bunch of logos, etc on the card. Keep it to the point. You should select a bright, neon colored postcard stock like yellow or pink - something that will stand out in the mailbox.

You only have 2 seconds to catch their attention.

Now I used this strategy once for a client, who needed a ranch home and the prospective seller called me and said "How did you know I wanted to sell?" I replied "I didn't know, so that's why I sent out the postcards." My clients ended up purchasing that home.

They agreed on a price, the sellers didn't have to leave in a hurry and the buyers found just wanted they wanted without the continued stress anymore.

Now you may be wondering about agency laws and who's representing whom. Well, that's something to discuss with your broker to decide what you need to do in your situation.

This is what I've identified as "Under-The-Radar MarketingTM"!

It's another way to work your real estate business more efficiently and more effectively. When you have a client, who is looking for a very specific type property or only in certain small subdivisions or condo communities, this strategy is one that can be used to hopefully find your client's new home.

To your success,

Dan

P.S. For those of you celebrating, have a safe and happy holiday season!

What's your BIGGEST FRUSTRATION in your real estate business?
E-mail me at: dan@agentsuccesscoach.com

All content copyrighted © 2007 - Dan Weis, Agent Success Coach

Don't Keep ActiveRain A Secret!

If you're not on ActiveRain Referral Network, you're really missing out!

Here are some of the benefits of being a member of ActiveRain:

• it's FREE
• if you build a profile and presence in the site, you can generate consumer and agent referrals over time
• it's a great educational, real estate site
• there are groups that post on all types of specific topics, like technology, FSBOs, marketing, financing issues, and so much more
• you can build friendships with others nationwide
• there's a sister site, Localism.com, that many consumers go to and can find you

You build up your ranking on the site accumulating points, which you get by completing your profile, writing posts (200 points each), commenting on other's posts (25 points each), referring others to ActiveRain, etc.

There are Realtors, lenders, attorneys, inspectors, stagers, insurance & title agents, appraisers, financial planners, etc on the site.

If you spent 30 minutes a day on ActiveRain, you'd gain a ton of knowledge and there's more here than you can ever read.

So, before you leave, sign up for FREE at ActiveRain at:
http://www.activerain.com/action/referrals/dweis.

You'll be glad you registered.

Is It TOO Late...?

Have you set your goals for 2008 yet?

You have 2 weeks left before 2007 is but a memory and 2008 is coming in full speed ahead.

Whether you write down the total volume of business you want to close in 2008 or you focus on the number of transactions closed, now is the time to decide what you need to do.

Even though we're right in the middle of the holiday season and everyone is spending time shopping, being with family and taking some time off, there's still plenty of time to write your business plan for next year.

So, what are you going to do in 2008? Are you planning to spend the next 365 days the same way you spent the last? Achieving the same results...or, are you ready to take a leap forward in grow in 2008? You could stay behind wishing to prosper or you could decide to take action and make a change.

Whether you had a great year in 2007 or a dismal one, it's time to determine what strategies you can implement to make 2008 a great year.

The experts have been talking about going back to the basics. Have you adapted to the changing market or do you have your head in the sand?

The reality is the real estate market is anew and if you don't change your plan, your income will suffer.

It's projected that hundreds of thousands of Realtors and mortgage lenders will get out of the business in
2008. Are you willing to strap yourself in and do what you need to do?

There is still plenty of opportunity available for anyone willing to work for it. Yes, there will be more "bumps and bruises" along the way, but the real estate market had been pretty easy for several years in a row. You know what I mean...a hot seller's market in many areas.

The tide has changed, but you can change with it.

I know you can! You just have to believe in yourself and stay focused on what you need to do. I believe in you!

Once you've set your 2008 goals, break them down into segments of 90 days at a time. I've talked about this before, because too much can change over an entire year and if you need to re-direct your 'sails', then you don't want to wait to long to do it.

Have you heard that when the space shuttle is launched into space, it's off-target 97% of the time, but they're constantly re-adjusting the direction, so that they can reach their destination.

Your business plan is also in constant fluctuation. You still have to stay focused on your vision, but the strategies you utilize may change from time to time during the year.

You need to constantly analyze the results of your activities. Are you getting the desired outcome? If not, what steps can you do to tweak in your strategy to improve your end results?

So before 2007 ends, please take the time to devise your plan for 2008, because if you don't, you'll be behind those who took the time to figure out what they need to do in 2008 to make it a banner year.

Remember, there's ALWAYS enough business to go around for those who work for it. We are in a land of abundance. If you're not getting the business you used to, then you need to look at what's not working (or what you're NOT doing) and change. You probably don't want to hear this, but there are newer agents, who are more tech-savvy than you, and they're ready to go out and take your market share away from you.

Now's the time to take a stand for yourself and your family.

To your success,

Dan

What's your BIGGEST FRUSTRATION in your real estate business?
E-mail me at: dan@agentsuccesscoach.com

All content copyrighted © 2007 - Dan Weis, Agent Success Coach

HOT, New Marketing, e-Tool!

Wow! I was truly surprised by the number of agents, who got their copy of the e-book titled: "450 Ideas To Help Your Home Sell Faster".

It's a great tool to use to keep your name in front of potential sellers, for sale by owners and expired listings. You need a way to differentiate yourself from the masses of real estate agents.

Why am I telling you this?

Because there are too many real estate agents in the marketplace today...they're everywhere.

Why should a seller pick you over anyone else?

This is one of the many tools you need in your marketing arsenal. With over 80% of buyers and
sellers using the Internet today, you need to provide more service than the 3 P's: Put up a sign, Put in MLS & Pray.

When you promote this e-book properly to prospects, you have a better chance of being the only agent the prospect interviews.

You can also offer this e-book to your inactive clients and see if they're planning to make a move this year.

If they're staying put, then ask "Who among your family and friends has talked about selling their home in the near future?"

You can send a copy of this e-book to them and it'll be a great introduction for you. You can even provide more information about how your services can help them.

By offering this e-book to people for free, you're providing value to them.

You need to offer your expertise, your negotiating skills, your pro-active marketing program and the products and services that make your lisitings shine and get sold.

"450 Ideas To Help Your Home Sell Faster"

This e-book, which you can customize with your photo and contact information is an excellent tool, because it's only a one-time investment and you can use it over and over again. You can color print it or e-mail it out to people. It's another great way to get prospect's email addresses.

The next time you go on a listing presentation, will this tool be a part of your marketing plan or are you going to wonder if the other agents will be giving the seller their free copy?

To get your copy of this great marketing tool & 2 Additional, Free BONUSES:

• Moving With Your Children e-Book
• Moving With Your Pets e-Book

go to: "450 Ideas To Help Your Home Sell Faster"

My promise to you: I'll only share products & services with you that I've personally used or researched and found to be effective in improving your business or life.

A New Way of Thinking!

Have you ever been through a slump or rough spot, where you kept saying to yourself that "It's not my fault...it's this or that, but not me".

We all experience that at one time or another, but the reality is you are in total control of your life and your destiny...with one exception.

That exception is the people you associate with.

You can be a focused individual, who reads your goals every day, follows your business plan, and thinks positive thoughts, but you cannot do this all alone.

You need other people...people to delegate tasks to, people to mastermind with and people to be around who love you.

I used to think through my thoughts and actions that I could achieve a lot on my own, but that's really not the case. If you're like me, you know it too. You need others to help you accomplish the tasks that aren't meant for you to do, so that you can achieve your overall goals.

You need to put systems in place in your business, but once you decide what the steps are to complete them, delegate it and let it run on its own.

Sure, you may need to tweak things from time to time, but you need others, who are good at what they do, so you can master your strengths.

You need to come to the understanding that you are not an island. To be successful, you need a team around you ...but not a team of employees. You can out-source the setting up of your systems to others, who specialize in those areas. Then you can do what you do best...sell homes.

So search for others, who can help you achieve your real estate goals. Make a step-by-step roadmap of what you want your business to look like and then attack it; with the help of others. You may think that it'll cost a lot to get these steps done, but if you do them yourself, how long will that take and how much time and energy will you have wasted?

Stop thinking you have to do everything yourself. With the help of others, you will achieve more and make more money.

You don't have to get it perfect, just get it going.

Now go do it!

To your success,

Dan

What's your BIGGEST FRUSTRATION in your real estate business?

E-mail me at: dan@agentsuccesscoach.com

All content copyrighted © 2007 - Dan Weis, Agent Success Coach

Have I Gone MAD?

I just returned at 1:00am this morning from a 4-day Internet Marketing workshop in Atlanta.

It's amazing what other industries are doing in the Internet Marketing arena. Sometimes it's easy to get pigeon-holed in real estate and then we don't really see what's happening in other areas. It's important to read books and business magazine subscriptions, because you can learn what strategies are working in other industries.

Now I'm going to share a couple of the insights (I wrote about 30 pages of notes) that I picked up over the four days. I will also be sharing some product recommendations with you over the coming months that I'm personally going to be using and testing first.

Insight #1: It's really important to choose a target market right now. Ask yourself "Who's your perfect prospect?" Then you need to determine their interests, their desires, their possible fears about real estate, etc. Don't be a jack-of-all-trades! The more you define your target market, the more you can become an expert to that group.

Insight #2: An exciting strategy that I heard about how to receive income by providing products and services to your clients after they purchase their property. You see, after they close, your income faucet stops with that client (it could be 5 - 10 years before they decide to make their next move) and what I heard this weekend can allow you to generate additional revenue by providing ongoing value to your clients.

To your success,

Dan

What's your BIGGEST FRUSTRATION in your real estate business?
E-mail me at: dan@agentsuccesscoach.com

All content copyrighted © 2007 - Dan Weis, Agent Success Coach

Your 30-Day Countdown To 2008!

Many real estate columnists and business coaches are now talking about setting your goals for 2008, since we have just over 30 days left in 2007.

Well, that's good and bad to do.

The good part is that it's a great time to start planning how you want to set up your business plan for 2008, but...

...the bad part is most real estate agents have already mentally written off the last 30 days of 2007 to 'holiday parties' or 'no one is in the mood to buy or sell' or 'the market is terrible so why try'.

These EXCUSES are just that...EXCUSES.

You still have 9.5% of your year left! Don't slow down!

Don't be like most real estate agents in the market right now. It's time to take action to either finish 2007 with a couple of more sales or at least set up 2008 with some great leads that will happen after the first of the year.

Here are 5 steps you can take to make these last 30+ days profitable to you:

1. Go back through all of your warm and cold leads from the past 3 months. They're either in your day timer or on yellow post-it notes or who knows where. Contact them to see if they've already bought or sold or do they plan to buying or selling within the next
   60 - 90 days.
   
2. Contact all of your current sellers and if their homes have been on the market for more than 2 weeks without a price change, see if they're willing to adjust their price some more. Competitively priced listings are still selling. Unfortunately, it's just that most listings are still over-priced.
   
3. Contact all of your buyers and see where they stand right now. Have they been pre-approved by a lender? Are they ready to make an offer on a property? Especially during the next month, keep in close contact with them...it's easy for them to get distracted too. Sellers with homes on the market over the holidays are highly motivated.
   
4. Contact your inactive clients. Wish them well for the holidays...ask if there's anything you can do for them...do they have any mortgage questions...do they need a contractor...be their real estate resource. Also, update their e-mail address. People change those more often than you think.
   
5. Lastly, spend time with your family in the coming month. But work when you schedule it and play & relax when you have time to do it. All work and no play makes for a crabby agent. Set daily activities to complete before you finish your business each day.
   
   

The more you stay active in December, the better first quarter you'll have in 2008. If you go into your office to work each day, don't worry that most agents aren't there. Take advantage of the quiet and forge ahead to achieve your goals for the month.

If you do everything you set your mind to do for the next 30 days, you'll be very happy when the Times Square Ball drops on New Year's Eve.

To your success,

Dan

All content copyrighted © 2007 - Dan Weis, Agent Success Coach

Today is Thanksgiving!

As we give thanks today on Thanksgiving, take time out to think about what you're thankful for.

Why not go around dinner table and have each person say what or who they are TRULY thankful for this year.

For many agents, this year has been tough - financially, mentally, physically, and emotionally. Maybe you've worked twice as hard for half the commission this year. Maybe you've had to deal with a lot more difficult clients this year. Maybe real estate hasn't been enjoyable for you this year.

Well, be thankful for everything you have in life, because there are hundreds of millions of people, who are in a lot worse situations than you and I right now.

Think about our troops in harm's way every day...the hundreds of thousands of Bangladeshan people now suffering from the cyclone that hit their country last week...the homeless - men, women & children...the unthinkable pain and suffering happening around the world...

Take a moment to think about how blessed we are to be living in the greatest country in the world.

When times get tough, you need to look at how you can do things differently, so that you can maintain or exceed your expectations.

The real estate market doesn't always have 5%, 10%, 20% or more appreciation every year. We've been very fortunate for many years and now we're in a changing market. Don't forget that the housing market always goes through cycles...some longer than others.

But remember, homes are still selling in our market. The ones with the best pricing, in the best condition and are effectively negotiated...are selling.

So take time out this week and think about the good things and the people you're closest to in your life. Have you picked up the phone to see how a sick relative is doing or checked up on a distant cousin who you used to be close to?

We all can get too wrapped up in our daily, busy lives and we wonder where all of our time goes.

Take time out to look over your schedule and see how you can work more efficiently, so that you can have more time to do the things you love doing and spend more time with the people you love too.

Thanks for letting me share my tips with you each week.

Have a Happy Thanksgiving!

To you and your family,

Dan

Can Classified Ads Yield You Better Results?

While real estate advertising continues to decrease in newspapers, many brokers and agents continue to promote themselves and their listings in that print medium.

Is that the right or wrong thing for them to do?

I can't answer that question, because I don't know what results they're getting.

The right question to ask is: "Through tracking their advertising, are they getting quality leads from that advertising medium?

It's a two-part result to analyze, because they may be getting lots of quality leads, but are they converting them to listings and sales? That's a topic for another day.

Today, I want you to look at your classified newspaper advertising.

If you submit listings into your local newspaper each week, are your ads just like everyone else's ads?

Be honest with yourself!

That is the easy way to do it sometimes, because you don't have to put much thought into the process of writing the ad...and you are really thinking that the ad won't do much to generate any leads any way, aren't you?

We've all been there at one point or another. It's 5 minutes until the ad deadline and you're scrambling to come up with some text just to get the ad in on time.

Well now, let's try something different.

Let's look at designing a template that you can use for your listings that are hopefully more effective and bring you more leads.

Doing it this way allows you to follow a format that can bring you better results and you can also TEST different aspects of it over time to see which versions draw the most interest from consumers.

Isn't that what you're ultimately after?

YOU HAVE ONLY SECONDS TO GRAB the consumer's attention!

2...3...4...5 seconds at most.

What's the purpose of an ad?

No, it's not to list everything but the kitchen sink. :)

The purpose of an ad is to get the consumer to contact you.

Why would they call you and how would they reach you?

Have you given them a HOT BUTTON in your ad to make them sit up and take notice?

Please don't say "3bd, 1bth, FP, LLWO on CDS st".

If you do, you're throwing your money down the drain.

What is it about your listing that's going to make someone want it badly?

It's either PLEASURE or GREED.

Consumers either fall in love with a property, seeing something in it that really attracts them to the property or if it's a plain jane, for example, then you have to hit their GREED button...it's too good of a deal to pass up.

So here's what you should have in your ad:

• Neighborhood name
• property address
• price range..."in the $180's" (qualifies buyers - don't need to be exact)
• a couple of HOT features that connect with PLEASURE or GREED
• property web site (Photos at www...)
• your direct phone number

You want to get the consumer to take the next step of either going online to get more information about your listing or to call you to ask you some questions.

If you have any questions about this topic, please e-mail me at dan@danweis.com.

To your success,

Dan

All content copyrighted © 2007 - Dan Weis, Agent Success Coach

What eBay Can Teach You About Success!

I recently picked up an issue of the Business 2.0 magazine and was skimming through it, looking for articles of interest, when I came across a story about Meg Whitman, CEO of eBay.

It was such an excellent article that I wanted totear it out and share it with you.

It was an article about FOCUS and growing a business.

In the article, Meg Whitman was asked: "eBay is an amazing growth machine. What were the key decisions you made that set up the company for this kind of hyperthyroidism?"

Her answer, "The key decisions can all be characterized by focus, focus, focus. Back in March of 1998, we were faced with a decision on what categories we wanted to focus on."

"We decide to really be a collectibles company. The heaviest users were collectors. The heaviest sellers were collectors. It was a very explicit, strategic decision, because part of the group wanted to go into consumer electronics and all of these categories we are in today."

And we answered, "We have only a limited number of resources. What is the best focus that we can have?"

Wow!

That's so critical, but it's too easy to become scattered and lose sight of your goal.

Re-read that last sentence Meg Whitman said above.

Ask yourself the question this way: "I only have a limited number of resources. What is the best focus I can have?"

Meg Whitman is worth hundreds of millions of dollars. What do Meg, Tiger, Oprah and Donald Trump all know?

You need to FIND YOUR FOCUS and TAKE ACTION.

Stop doing things that take away from your FOCUS.

You can delegate, but you can't get back your time. So really look at what makes you the most money per hour and do it. Delegate the rest.

Are Your Print Ad Dollars Going Down The Drain?

I've noticed recently how in my marketplace, the Sunday real estate section of our newspaper has been shrinking ... the large company ads as well as the individual, classified ads.

It appears that more consumers are looking for properties online. (I saw a survey that said up to 8 out of 10 consumers go online searching for homes.) When many agents I've questioned ask open house prospects how they found the open house, most of them say that they found it through the Internet or by directional and for sale signs.

My questions are: Are newspaper and real estate magazine ads still working? Do you get calls? Are you tracking where your leads come from? If you're not getting calls from your ads, why are you still advertising in those places?

While the newspapers are getting fewer ads, the real estate magazine company still appear to be holding steady with the number of pages they fill in their magazines each month.

Are you only paying for classified ads in real estate magazines and newspapers, because sellers want you to?

Are sellers even asking you to do classified ads or are you still promoting it in your marketing
plan, because you just think sellers want that?

Maybe you do it, because you think your competition is still doing it. But is it an effective use of your resources?

Do you know at this moment how much you've spent this year on classified & magazine ads?

If it's not brought up in your presentation, do you need to discuss it? If you must do, yet you know it's ineffective, why not just promise to do it less frequently.

When the topic of classified advertising is brought up by a seller, I always ask them: If you were looking for a home today, would you read through little 2 or 3-line ads in the Sunday newspaper or would you prefer to go online and find photos and lots of details about different homes?

Practically, all of them say "The Internet".

To which I reply, then why would you want me to spend my marketing budget on newspaper classified ads?

Now, one reason agents may be continuing to advertise in the traditional locations is because they feel that they'll still get the occasional lead that way.

They may also be concerned that they aren't getting enough leads from their Internet presence. Well, what you need to realize is that consumers can now more easily "cloak" themselves behind their computer screens and they don't want you to know that they're there. The consumer will only 'raise their hand' if and when they need something from you.

Next week, I will talk about "Can your classified ads get you better results?"

If you have any questions about this topic, please e-mail me at dan@danweis.com.

To your success,

Dan

All content copyrighted © 2007 - Dan Weis, Agent Success Coach

Is Your Signature Costing You Business?

I don't mean your hand-written signature, but your e-mail signature. This is an oft-forgotten, simple strategy that can make you a lot of money.

Take a look at your e-mail signature. What does it include? Many agents have their name, company, address, and 3 or 4 phone numbers in their signature.

Let's take a closer look at what can provide you with maximum benefit.

What are the most important items to be included that will make it easiest for a prospect or client to reach you?

Also, you should have direct-response marketing in your signature.

Here's an example of my client e-mail signature:

Dan Weis
Real Estate Consultant since 1985

RE/MAX Unlimited Realtors - Cincinnati, OH

cell: 513-615-1890 fax: 513-842-8830

E-mail: dan@DanWeis.com

Web site: http://cincinnatirealestatehelp.com/

Visit my blog: http://cincinnatirealestatenews.com/

___________________________________

I don't understand why agents list 3 or 4 phone numbers (office, direct line, cell, voice mail, home) on their e-mail signatures and business cards. It confuses the prospect and a confused mind takes no action. What's the one number that you're most reachable at (but have voice mail on, if you're not available to talk)? Don't have people trying to guess which number they should call you at. Give them one number.

Also, it's important to list your e-mail address, web site, blog (if you use one) and a call to action that can be used for direct-response leads.

Another strategy is to make different e-mail signatures for different groups of people. You could have one for your clients and one for your prospects. You can even break it down more to specific niche groups. You could offer each of them a different direct-response ad.

If you have any questions about this topic, please e-mail me at dan@danweis.com.

To your success,

Dan

All content copyrighted © 2007 - Dan Weis, Agent Success Coach

Sorting To Find The Diamond Prospects!

In today's real estate market, there are sellers, who...

...can't sell, because they owe more than their property is worth,

...just want to use you for CMA information and then sell their property 'by owner',

...have a relative or friend "in the business", but they use you to gain insight to help 'them' list their property,

...interview many agents to see who will take the least amount of commission.

If one of these scenarios hasn't happened to you recently, you're not meeting enough sellers.

The reality today is that you really need to protect your valuable time for only those consumers, who you really expect to have a good chance of working with and not just pump you for information.

How do you do that?

Well, before you spend a couple of preparing a CMA and even running over to their property, it's important to ask a series of questions that will help you determine if you want to pursue this opportunity.

Remember, as a professional, you need to find out who's worthy of your time. Sellers often think they're the ones who decide if you get the job of representing them, but you should be 'interviewing' them as well to see if they meet your standards.

When a prospect contacts you, you need to let them know that prior to coming out, you need to ask them a series of questions to better help you understand their situation and see if think you'll be able to help them.

Do you really want to spend a couple of hours preparing a presentation for a seller, who just wants to know what their property is worth to see if they can re-finance?

Now, there's nothing wrong with that, if you find out upfront that that's what they want from you. Then you won't waste all of your valuable time.

Now, I always set a time over the phone to be able to ask my questions. Sometimes I can do it right then, while other times we arrange another time that works for both of us.

Here are some of the questions that I ask on the phone call: (you may have others & I'd love to hear them)

• Do you NEED to sell or do you just WANT to try to sell right now?
• Where are you moving to? When do you have to be there?
• What do you like best about your home?
• What improvement/major repairs have you made in past few years?
• How would you rate the overall condition of your home?
• Do you have any mortgages on your home? If yes, what are approximate balances?
• Are you familiar with recent home sales in your neighborhood?
• Where do you estimate your home's value to be? Not sure? Where would you guess?
• Which is more important to you: the highest price possible or a quick sale?
• If you didn't get your price, how would that affect your selling plans?
• What's your biggest concern about the home-selling process? (LISTEN!)
• What originally attracted you to buy your home?
• Have you thought about selling by yourself? (You know they have!)
• What are the most important qualities you're looking for in a real estate professional?
• Are you interviewing any other agents besides me?
• With your permission, I'd like to be the last agent you talk to. When's your last appt scheduled for?

Thanks for taking your time to answer my questions. Your answers will help me formulated a customized marketing strategy that best meets your needs.

By the way, I'll be emailing you some very imprtant information that we'll be reviewing at my appt. Please take time to go through it before we meet.


Now, with questions like those above, you'll get a pretty good idea about what the seller's motivation is, needs are and if you want to take the time to prepare a CMA and presentation.

If you currently use other questions, I'd love to hear them. What's working for you?

It's time to take control. Don't let others waste your time!

And one final point, don't tell me "I can't do a canned presentation." That's baloney! A well-rehearsed presentation won't sound 'canned'. The highest-paid professionals in all fields practice and rehearse their 'presentations'. You'll be having a dialogue with the seller, not a monologue. Let the seller answer questions and then if you need to go deeper with finding out more, you'll be able to.

This strategy takes practice, but once mastered, you'll be in the driver's seat and you'll actually end up helping the seller determine what's the best thing to do for their situation...whatever that is.

Keep me posted on how it works for you. I'd love to hear your results!

3 Simple Steps To Taking More Listings!

Are your listing appointments taking too long or are you losing out to your competitors?

Here are three steps that can help you increase your odds of bringing home more new listings.

(1) Decide the order of your presentation.

* Tour the property.

* Discuss marketing plan.

* Discuss pricing.

In what order do you normally give your presentation? What happens if you go the way noted above and after 2 hours, the sellers don't like your price. You've wasted a lot of your time, haven't you? What if you tour the property, discuss pricing and then, if in agreement, you review your marketing plan? Then, if the sellers don't like your pricing and you feel strongly about the list price, you can save a lot of time and move on to your next appt.

Don't fall into the trap of listing the home at an unrealistic price, because you can end up with a lot of headaches. Provide the sellers with detailed market data and show them what the market is doing right now. Determine which order works the best for you and fine-tune it.

(2) Do a pre-listing phone consultation.

Assemble a list of questions that you can ask the sellers by making a 10-minute phone call. You will be able to decipher which sellers are more serious about selling and you'll gain information on what some of the seller's "Hot Buttons" are and that leads me to step #3.

(3) Pre-empt the seller's objections by covering them in your presentation.

Once you learn about what concerns the sellers have, you can bring them up as a part of your listing presentation as though they are normal concerns of most sellers. When you address the seller's concerns before they have a chance to object, you're in more control of the situation and are guiding them to an outcome that is best for their situation. So, before your next listing appointment, take some time to find out what the seller's needs and concerns are. Then cover those items in your listing presentation and finally, figure out the best order for your listing presentation to help you gain a new, salable listing.

To your success,

Dan

Are You Sabotaging Your Listings?

There's not a day that goes by where when viewing properties online that I don't come across listings with no photos or listings with only 2 or 3 photos or others that should never have been put online.

I even saw one yesterday that had snow on the ground and we haven't had snow in over 7 months. I'm sure it's a great listing!

Now, locally in the Cincinnati market where I do business, we now have the opportunity to post up to 15 photos of a listing in our MLS and we can even do a slide show with up to 20 photos...

...and yet 9 out of 10 listings only show 6 photos or less (the old MLS standard).

Why is that?

Look at your listings. How many photos do you have of each of your listings?

Are you not showing more photos, because your listing isn't that photogenic in the first place?

Then how is a buyer going to be interested in your listing either?

You need to take some steps to improve the condition and the staging of your listings.

Unfortunately, I can't show you any poor photos of listings that I see all of the time, because the photos are proprietary and I didn't shoot them.

But you can go through your MLS and see what I'm talking about.

I saw a listing today that had no photos of the back yard or detached garage. It makes me wonder what are they trying to hide? What do they not want me to see until I get there? Or did they not even care enough to think about taking more photos?

With digital cameras today being so simple to use, you could take 50 - 100 photos and then select the best ones to showcase your listing.

If you don't have that many good shots, then take some more at a different time of the day.

Do you need more photos to fill in your listing?

How about taking pictures of your community pool, neighborhood entrance, area schools, area parks, or other amenities within your community?

When you're taking interior shots of your listing, make sure you have the proper lighting. People get turned off by looking at dark room photos.

Please...please...please stage your listing before taking photos of it. Even if you don't want to pay a home stager, then you can personally move furniture around or clear off the kitchen counters, etc. For many homes, that would be a big improvement over how the photos look now.

Consumers want to see lots of photos. Give them what they want. In today's market, if you don't entice them to view your listing, they have plenty of others to go look at.

Also, if you've had a listing through multiple seasons, it may be time to re-take some of the photos. Review your property photos and see if shooting new shots will make more of an impact right now.

I have an important question for you. Has your seller seen the photos that you're using online? Would they approve?

Would you want to show the listing to someone if it wasn't your listing?

We live in a visual world and if you don't make your listings aesthetically appealing, then you'll reduce the showing activity on it and possibly end up with an expired listing.

Now go out and make your listings SHINE!!!

Product Review: 450 Ideas To Sell Home Faster!

I'm always looking for products and services that can increase our efficiency and bottom-line profits. I found this product last week and it's already paying off for me with new clients.

It's an e-book that you can pass out to your current and prospective home-selling clients as well as expired listings, for sale by owners and others. You can even get it personalized with your photo and contact information.

This is a great tool and as you'll see when you click on the web site, there are many testimonials from top agents around the country that have profitably implemented it into their systems.

"450 Ideas To Help Your Home Sell Faster!"

The e-book The Pros Are Now Using...

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Do You Want To Gain A Competitive Edge?

For more details about this great product, just click here right now: "450 Ideas..." e-book

Interested In An Extra Income Stream?

Last month 4 former Attorneys General, current Presidents of U.S. Chamber of Commerce & National Black Chamber of Commerce and former President of American Bar Association endorsed Pre-Paid Legal Services, Inc. in a CourtTV documentary TV show.

This Saturday, October 27th at 11:00am EST on CourtTV!

We're going one step farther: It's LIVE!

Do your clients ask YOU real estate questions that SHOULD be answered by an attorney?

"STOP ANSWERING LEGAL QUESTIONS!"

Differentiate yourself from other Realtors and mortgage lenders and offer your clients, family and friends a Life Events legal plan and Identity Theft Shield plan.

You can receive Advanced Commissions For Membership Sign-ups and also get Overrides and Residual Income Too.

It's a simple way to present the service to your active clients and a great way to follow up with your current and inactive clients, who may give you more referrals as well.

If you missed the TV show or want more information, you can also listen to this toll-free recording at: 1-888-893-9961. I'm available to give you more information on owning the membership yourself (we've owned it since 2000) and becoming a marketing associate too. You can reach me at 513-615-1890 or e-mail at dan@danweis.com.

Are You Going After Your Dream?

Watch this inspirational video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NLF9iEXnBRo

It will touch your heart!

Do You Need A Jump-Start?

One way to jump-start your real estate business is to let go of the past.

What do I mean by that? Here's what I mean.

Do you still have the names and phone numbers of prospects from last year?

No? Come on. Everyone does.

I have one person, who's been looking off and on again for well over a year.

Why do I still continue to work with her? Because I hope she'll buy something soon and I have a lot of time invested in her. But the reality is she's costing me money and balance in my life. She won't make a decision. I need to let her go. She needs to buy a home or I'll have to refer her to someone else.

She doesn't constantly call though. She only calls me every few weeks or months to see a home, but the fact is I'm tolerating her, hoping to find her a home and get paid. You may say that's harsh, but we're running a business and prospects like her can really cost you business.

Think about this: every time you show homes, including drive time, you can easily spend an hour and a half. Or if you go on a listing appt, where you didn't ask pre-listing questions over the phone ahead of time, there goes another 2 - 3 hours of your life.

You need to value your time and use it wisely.

Don't let un-motivated customers take away your time. If you have several customers like this, you may definitely have a false sense of security, thinking business is great,when it's really not.

So, who have you been working with from the past 6 months or so (buyers or sellers), that you need to let go or refer out?

Whether they're a buyer or seller, you need to have a heart to heart chat with them and see if they are really ready to make a move now.

I believe at times we all like to hold on to prospects, who we think will buy, but in reality, they won't buy anything. We'd rather have their information, thinking we have a customer, than go out and prospect for new customers.

It's time to decide: do you want to have the "dead wood" keeping you down or wouldn't it be more exciting and financially rewarding to get some new customers, who will actually buy or sell a home?

More Open House Strategies From My Readers!

Here are a couple of other Open House strategies from my readers:

If you have referrals for their areas, please contact them.

from Natalie Langford, Shenandoah Valley, VA www.LangfordHomeSales.com

"It's a good idea to come up with a stack of similar listings to hand out to prospective buyers. They can then drive around and check out the homes and call you if they're interested in them. If not, maybe they'll still be interested in the one they viewed at the open house."

from Lee Marlin, North Atlanta, GA www.LeeMarlin.com

Here are some additional items of value for your Free Consumer Info Table:

- local area maps

- Newcomer magazines that help people relocating to the area

- Schools reports - public and private and how they rate

- Reports such as eNeighborhooods that show area demographics

- Newspaper/magazine articles about the economic / business climate of the area

- CMA comparative information showing why the home is a superior value

- Utility usage report for a full year - helpful to know what to expect in utility bills

- Condensed vendor list for lawn services, plumbers, electricians, mortgage companies

2) Tour of Homes Open House

- Arrange for several agents to pool their resources to hold a multi-home open house in the same area. Provide a prize drawing to the visitor or visitors who visit all, let's say, 4 open houses in the same general area. Each home could be open for the entire time frame.

- All the agents stimulate traffic for each other's listings.

- Any ads / directionals are coordinated so that prospective buyers know about all 4 homes(some people refine this by holding the homes open sequentially, i.e., - home 1 from 1:00 - 1:30,- home 2 from 1:45 - 2:15- home 3 from 2:30 - 3:00 - home 4 from 3:15 - 3:45.

Each home is open for 30 minutes with 15 minutes for a maximum travel time between homes. The benefits of having a number of people in each time for a short time is that it gives the buyers the "auction effect" - buyers think that someone else may buy the home they want - prompting the buyers to act faster and make an offer. Sellers get the impression of far greater traffic since it is concentrated during a short period of time. Seller also like that they get their turn and the visits are over. Agents like these since buyer turnouts are higher. Hint: Have someone help you with the open house since you could be mobbed. Provide multiple ways to collect information onhow to contact the visitors for followup.

Hints:- provide a flyer to the buyer with the times and route to take to see all 4 homes and be eligible for the prize.- ask area businesses and service providers to underwrite the Tour of Homes with their own prizes, coupons - painter, plumber, furniture, lawn service, closing attorney discount, mortgage company that waives some of the mortgage fees, etc.- have mortgage lender(s) provide refreshments, be on hand for financing questions, start the financial pre-qualification process.

2 Strategies To Make Open Houses Pay Off Big!

Are you open for business on Sundays?

How often do you have people walking into and out of your open houses never to hear from them again?

Are they just browsing like when they go to a mall or are they serious buyers? Who are they?

~ Curious neighbors, who may sell their home soon
~ People, who saw your internet ad
~ Someone, who happened to drive by and saw the sign
~ Active buyers, whose agent told them about your open house

How many transactions are you leaving on the table, because you don't have a way to follow-up with these leads?

There's more to an open house than sticking the open house sign in the front yard, turning on the lights and letting people aimlessly walk through the property.

You and I understand that consumers are naturally tentative about going to any open house, because they feel you may try to 'sell' them. But the reality is if it's a home they're interested in, they want to see if it meets their emotional needs. That's where having the home properly staged can connect better with a buyer's senses.

But how do you follow up with the prospects, whether or not they're approachable?

Strategy #1:

One way is provide different types of information that will appeal to different personality types.

Bring in a small folding table, especially if the property is vacant, or use a small section of some counter space.

You can call it your "Free Consumer Information" table.

Here's a list of some different items to offer to your prospects:

• Top 10 Ways (your name) Can Help You Find Your Dream Home
• color brochure of the property
• Financing Options sheet from your preferred lender
• if priced properly, show a list of recent sales in the area
• sign-up sheet for receiving "New Listings By E-Mail" program
• list of your buyer and seller guarantees
• color copy of front page of your web site
• list of your other listings
• write a free, 1-page report on "How Your Credit Score Can Cost You"
• your business card and other service providers you work with
• and, by all means, put your name, number & email address on everything
  
  

Now there are many other items of value that you can provide to people. I just came up with this short list to give you some ideas.

By doing this, you'll really impress many consumers that walk through your open house. How many times have you gone through an open house, where the only thing there is a black & white copy of an MLS sheet (with no photo)?

Well, open houses are your "opportunity time", where you and your listing can shine.

Put some effort into it and it will pay off for you.

What other items have you used in the past or can you think of?

Send me an e-mail with your web address and tell me your idea(s) and I'll post it on my blog with a link to your web site for possible referrals from others around North America and beyond.

Strategy #2:

I have one other strategy that will really impress your seller clients as well as provide you with a great way to meet future potential sellers.

It's called the "Neighbors Sneek Peek Open House". Within the first 7 days, schedule an open house, preferrable on a week night, for 1.5 to 2 hours, say from 5:30 to 7:00. Invite all of the neighbors to stop in to see your new listing. You can send an invitation as well as a special open house sign and directional signs from the entrance if in a subdivision.

What you want to do is expose the listing to as many neighbors as possible, who may know of someone who want to live near them.

People are curious, by nature, and want to see the inside of other's homes, especially if they know the sellers won't be home.

You also get to show off your personality and expertise to them should they be ready to sell their home in the near future.

So, test it and tell me your results. I'll post it on my Agent Success Tips Blog for everyone to learn from.

Now, go out and sell some open houses and pick up new clients!

To your success,

Dan

Are You Lean & Mean or Overloaded?

Whether you are doing well financially or not in real estate, it's time to re-analyze your business.

What's working and what's not?

You need to look at your expenses.

Now you may be thinking "Oh, Dan's going to say to cut out all of my expenses."

Wrong!

But I am going to say to review your expenses and cut out those that aren't giving you an acceptable R-O-I (return on your investment).

What many agents do is spend money on marketing and advertising their listings and themselves without even considering if it's really worth it.

Or you over-promote your marketing plan to a seller and say that you'll do everything under the sun (because they said "XYZ Realty will do it."), when in reality, you can waste a lot of money and get zero results.

Are you spending money on items that are part of your business plan?

"Uhhh, I'm not sure" or "I don't know."

Don't just put an ad in the newspaper to appease a seller, who's not getting any showings. That's not the most effective use of your precious resources.

You need to implement the strategies that you designed in your marketing plan for each listing.

If you haven't done that, then start right now.

Before you take another listing, decide what you're going to spend your money on to help get that listing sold.

You need to determine when and how you're going to market your listing in the first week, the first month, after 3 months, etc.

That way you'll be in control and the seller can't tell you what to do in marketing their property.

There are 3 areas to consider when cutting your wasteful expenses:

1) Marketing & Advertising

Figure out how much you've spent so far this year and break it down into categories, i.e. newspaper advertising, real estate magazine, color brochures, internet marketing, lead generation systems, etc. Then look at which strategies are effectively working for you.

The purpose of this exercise is NOT to get rid of all of your expenses. That's crazy and is not in your best interest. All businesses have expenses, but you need to minimize them to focus only on those that are working and helping you increase your income.

2) Delegation

Do you have a full or part-time assistant?

Are they increasing your income by 5 or more times compared to what you're paying them? Do they have a lot of wasted time on their hands? I'm not saying whether or not you need them, but determine if they are increasing your profits or draining your pocketbook.

There are independent contractors out there who can be paid by the project or by a minimum number of hours per week or month. There are virtual assistants around the country, who get paid an hourly rate and only charge you when they've completed tasks for you. There may be services in your office that you can things for you. Take advantage of them. You can't do it all alone. You need to delegate. If you'd like more info on virtual assistants, just email me at dan@danweis.com.

3) Personal Expenses

How is your personal financial situation?

Really think about that for a moment.

Are you where you want to be today financially? Do you save money from each commission check to pay your quarterly taxes and save for retirement? Or do you just pay everything on a credit card and deal with it when the monthly statement comes in?

I know it can be scary out there.

A couple of weeks ago I saw Dave Ramsey at Xavier's Cintas Center. There was a traffic jam on the highway exit going to see him. He's written Total Money Makeover and Financial Peace University.

Here are 3 quotes from his materials:

Wall Street Journal ~ " 70% of consumers live paycheck to paycheck." For some of us, we can replace 'paycheck' with 'commission check'.

Bankrate.com ~ Only 32% of Americans would be able to cover a $5,000 emergency with cash, without going into debt for it.

NBC News ~ Only 3% of US citizens are saving in any type of an IRA.

You and I both know how real estate sales can come in cycles. You work hard to get 4 listings 'under contract' and 2 buyers sold. Then for the next 30 - 45 days you're handling inspection and closing issues and you're not working on new business. So the roller coaster goes!

You need to look at your personal and family expenses at home. Are living within your means or are you trying to keep up with the Joneses? Don't do that. On the surface, the Joneses look like they're doing great, but what you don't know is they've mortgaged their home to the max with a home equity loan to pay off their credit cards (not great to do in this market) and they still don't stop using their credit cards.

Review your monthly personal expenses. Which ones are necessities and which ones are purely optional? How are you living? Do you need the Super-Duper cable package? Can you make some changes? Do you want to make some changes? It's up to you.

Do you have any big-ticket items that you haven't used in years, but if you sold them, you could pay down or pay off some other bills?

I know this can be a deeply personal subject that most people won't talk about to their friends, family and, sometimes, even their spouse.

Financial indebtedness causes a lot of worry in many people. Yet, you see commercials on TV about how VISA and MASTERCARD want you to use your credit card for everything. Even the game of MONOPOLY is now using a credit card and NO CASH! We are being brainwashed!

CASH is bad...credit GOOD! Hogwash!!!

Take some time to sit down and look at all of your expenses. Analyze what you should continue doing and what you can stop doing and save some money.

Read some good, common-sense books on money management...Dave Ramsey's "Total Money Makeover", David Bach's "Automatic Millionaire", Robert Kiyosaki's "Rich Dad, Poor Dad", just to name a couple.

Changes won't happen overnight. They take time, but your decision to change can happen in an instant.

Is Your Business At Risk? Watch This Powerful, CourtTV Documentary!

Would you like to have an extra income stream coming from your business while still selling real estate?

Do your clients ask YOU questions that SHOULD be answered by an attorney?

STOP ANSWERING LEGAL QUESTIONS!

Differentiate yourself from other Realtors and mortgage lenders and offer your clients and friends Life Events & Identity Theft Shield membership plans.

Watch this 30-minute, documentary on CourtTV on Saturday, October 27th at 11:00am EST (10am CST, 9am MST, 11am PST).

For additional information before the show, listen to a toll-free, recorded message specifically for Realtors and mortgage lenders at 1-888-893-9961.

Call me if you have any questions or interest at 513-615-1890 or e-mail me at dan@danweis.com.