Stuck At Your Current Level?

Do You Feel Stuck At Your Current Level?

You need to determine what you want your goal to be for the next 3 or 6 months. A lot of things can change in a year, so break it down to smaller periods of time. That way it's easier to adjust to any changes in the market.

Next, look at the activities you need to accomplish your goals on a daily and weekly basis. Make sure that the strategies you plan to do are an effective use of your time...dollar-productive activities.

Use a planner to list what you must do on a daily and weekly basis and keep track of your results every day.

Often, you may not see a change for the better right away, but you must focus on completing your daily activities. Don't worry about your results. They will come. Just consistently do what your plan says you need to do and it will happen.

Remember the saying - "An apple a day keeps the doctor away, not 7 apples on Sunday."

The following thought just came into my head:

I can be having a great day, focused on 'being in the moment' and in great spirits and accomplishing many things. Then if I turn on the TV, view the Internet or pick up a newspaper, I see that the news is terrible and it changes my attitude immediately.

It can be debilitating!

Don't do it!

When you focus on your own daily activities, your life will sure seem a lot less complicated and definitely less stressful. In a way, it's like "cocooning" yourself into your immediate surroundings of work and family.

It's when you allow the outside world into your mind, your thoughts and actions go crazy. All of the negativity and sadness in the world can be overwhelming.

It's amazing how small and insignificant each of our lives can be if we don't strive to do more than just get by each day. Yet, by achieving our dreams and goals of helping others, we can make a difference.

Focus on what you can do to help others and let the rest of the world handle what they are (supposedly) in charge of. By being the best you can be will help others. If everyone just did their best each day, the world just be a better place in which to live.

All of this leads me back to you taking charge of what you need to achieve every day and not letting distractions erase your valuable time. Use a time planner to keep yourself focused on doing what you need to do every day.

Remember, when you consistently do the activities, the results may not be immediate, but they will come.

To your success,

Dan

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To List or Not To List!

To List or Not List......that's the question!

I've been reading many articles lately, where some of them say that you shouldn't spend all of your time and money on listings right now, because the market is saturated. I've read other articles, where they say to list, list, list. The more listings you have, the more buyers will call you.

Well, I think everything works well in moderation.

To not have any listings forces you to work solely with buyers. Do you want to do that?

I believe that a pre-approved and motivated buyer is as good as a listing right now. Yes, you do have to spend your time driving around showing properties, but by having the buyers preview the properties online, that will reduce the number of homes you have to show them.

To build a listing inventory in today's buyer market, you need to better educate your sellers about the market conditions more than ever or you could end up spending lots of money on advertising your listings. You see, most sellers think that traditional, institutional advertising (like newspaper & homes magazines) sells homes. The reality is a very small percentage of homes are sold from a buyer looking through those types of periodicals. Most buyers today search through the Internet. (They don't have to talk to an agent until they're ready...they like staying "invisible"!)

So how can you handle more listings today and not go broke?

Here are 5 effective strategies to implement:

1. Complete a Detailed Market Analysis - Share with the sellers all of the various factors that can play into their home selling or not selling...supply & demand, days on market, absorption rate, seller financing options, property conditions, interest rate fluctuations, etc. You have to lay it on the line with the seller. If a seller wants too much money for their home and you don't think the market will bear it, tell them. If they insist, consider recommending them to another agent and get a referral fee (if) it sells. If it doesn't, then they may call you back later.
   
2. Showcase the Property - You need to make recommendations to the sellers to prepare their home in its best light. I have a contractor come out and make recommendations for repairs/improvements and give an estimate to do the work.
   
   I also recommend that a seller have a pre-sale home and termite inspection, so that they aren't surprised by a buyer's inspection findings and have to pay more money out of their pocket. I go through properties all of the time with clients and I just shake my head...I can't believe they leave the property in the condition that they do and they expect to get top dollar too.
   
3. Communicate with Area Agents - To keep yourself updated on the pulse of the market. Call other agents with listings in the area and see what their activity level is on their listings.
   
4. Make your Advertising Dollars Work for You - When you do advertising, don't just write the typical '3 bd, 1bt, fp, gar' in the ad. What's the highlight of the property? People buy on 'Emotion' or 'Greed'. Which is it for each listing? Give the consumer a reason to contact you. Offer them something of value, like a free report about buying a home in today's market.
   
5. Seller's Net Proceeds Sheet - Always fill out a net proceeds sheet for the seller. I use 3 different price points to show them what they could walk away with at the closing. IMPORTANT POINT: You must have them get a verbal pay-off amount of their mortgage(s). Sellers can easily guess wrong and end up paying several hundred to several thousand dollars more, because they guessed on what they owed. Also, if a seller has been behind on their payments, you want to know that before they accept an offer. Short sales are becoming more common today and you have to be prepared to deal with that situation.
   
   When you're on a listing presentation, I believe it's more important than ever to use consulting skills vs. sales skills, because consumers don't want to be 'SOLD' anything. I just read where we'repractically ranked at the bottom of the salespeople list. Consumers need to know what their options are, especially in today's market. It's your role to help them decipher what's in their best interest.
   
   Do you want to know what the truth is about selling homes today?
   
   At the completion of your listing appointment, you'll know if the property is going to sell or not. Based on how the seller answers your qualifying questions, accepts the market data that is presented to them and is willing to prepare their property for sale, you'll have all of the information necessary to determine if the property is salable or not....and if you want to list it or not.
   
   In my opinion, look for quality listings. You can still build your inventory to a workable level, but don't just take any listing to have a listing. You'll just end up saying to yourself, "Why did I list this one?"
   
   To your success,
   Dan

Follow Tiger's Philosophy!

You Can Benefit From Tiger's Philosophy!

Tiger Woods' swing coach Hank Haney recently shared a quote from Tiger:

"Tiger doesn't care about what he's done. He doesn't care about where he's been. He doesn't care about how good he is. He only cares about ~ 'What do I need to do today to better than I was yesterday?' Haney said.

Do you wake up with a game plan for the day?

Most real estate agents don't. They may think they have an idea about what they need to do during the day...may have an appointment or two, but in the end, they are answering their phone and putting out fires. Then before they know it, the day is over...then the week is over...then the month is over.

Have you been there before?

I have.

It's a challenge to stay focused on your goals when you don't use some type of daily planner. You can use a software program similar to Top Producer, have a formatted one page sheet of paper, a Day Timer or even 3x5 index card. The idea is to use something. Saying that you can remember everything in your head is a cop-out...you're not being accountable.

It's all about the percentages. Imagine if tomorrow you become 1% better skilled at your profession than day. In just over 3 months, it's possible to double your skill set from where you are today. Does that mean that you'll double your income in that same time frame? Probably not, but over the long-term your income can rise a lot quicker because of your increased efficiency and effectiveness.

Remember, Tiger said, 'What do I need to do today to better than I was yesterday? Can you imagine someone as good at golf as Tiger, even after winning tournaments, would shut down his game two times and re-build his golf swing? Why? To become a better golfer.

Just like Tiger, when he came on the golfing scene, the rest of the PGA professionals had to improve their games or they'd be left in the dust. Well, Tiger can't sit on his laurels either. He has to constantly strive to improve his game...and so do you.

In the current real estate market, most agents have to strive to improve their skills for two reasons...1) there are more agents than there is business in many areas, so the competition for buyers and sellers is immense. 2) There are more listings than buyers in many areas, so agents have to improve their skills in dealing with sellers and better educating sellers as to what it takes to sell a property in this market.

Take time out each business day to work on your skill-sets. Whether it's in the morning before you head out the door or in the evening after most people are asleep, take an hour to read a book, practice scripts, review your daily plan, etc.

It will help you stay focused and you'll waste less time too.

To your success,

Dan

How Did He Lose $747,000...?

How Did He Lose $747,000 In Under 30 Minutes?

Lack of Experience! It's as simple as that!

Well, and over-clubbing while having his adrenaline running on 'over-drive' didn't help either!

Sean O'Hair is a 24-year old professional golfer on the PGA Tour, who was in contention recently at the 'The Players' golf tourney, considered by many to be the fifth golfing major.

Sean has only won one tournament, the John Deere Classic in 2005, in his young career.

In the final round on that Sunday, Sean was paired with Phil Mickelson, who has won 30 tournaments during his career, including 3 Majors.

On the 17th hole (the famous island green), Sean was one shot behind Phil and suddenly he hit 2 balls into the water. His title hopes ended. Over the final 2 holes, he dropped down to 11th place.

Yes, the difference from first place to 11th place was $747,000.

In the weeks since, Sean has continued to play better and more consistent golf. In many cases, you need to put yourself in contention to win before you can win. Sometimes, you'll make mistakes and other times, you'll do just fine.

Like in golf, much of your real estate business is a mental game and how you handle the challenges of your daily tasks, counseling your clients, etc. makes all of the difference in what you end up accomplishing every day.

It's OK to get down (for a few minutes), but then you need to re-start yourself and move forward.

(That happened to me recently after receiving a home inspection addendum - asking for a lot of unexpected repairs. But I reviewed the options of what needed to happen next and we decided to just deal with it the next day after we knew what the repairs would cost. I couldn't change anything until I knew the whole picture, so I put my mind back into focusing on the task at hand.)

Like Sean and everyone else in the world, when you're attempting to complete a new task, it doesn't always turn out the way you want it to, but over time and with more practice, you'll get better.

Whether you're a new agent doing listing presentations or you've done them for years, you need to revise them to match your current market conditions. You need to practice, practice, practice with someone you know, so that you'll be comfortable in front of a prospect.

In soft markets, you need to better educate your clients on how the over-supply of homes can affect their home's value. You need to be prepared for their questions and objections.

What areas do you need more practice in?

Think about it. We all have areas of weakness. What can you do to improve your skills? Just increasing your proficiency a little bit can make a huge difference in your sales and income.

Don't blow this off right now. Take a good look at your busines and figure out which area needs the most help and take the time to focus on improving it. Once that's done. Go to the next one...and the next one...
You're constantly evolving...either for better or for worse.

The real estate market is also constantly in flux...it's either great for buyers or sellers. Don't stand still. If you do, there are too many agents, who will roar right past you.

To your success,

Dan

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