As professional sales people, we are often faced with serious competition and in a challenging market it seems more and more agents are willing to discount their price in order to secure a listing or buyer.

While each agent and brokerage is entitled to set their own pricing, I have found that in most cases where discounting of price occurs, it is not because of a discount price strategy;  rather it’s an inability to show enough value to the client to get the price the agent would like.

I spent many years working state fairs and shows selling hot tubs and satellite dishes (yep, I was that guy!)  I love that hard core sales environment where the best sales people make great money, and the poor sales people watch and wonder how they can be at the same event and suffer with dismal sales.  The answer is very simple - the super stars of sales know how to sell value.   I remember one year at the Utah State Fair, my Hot Tub booth was set up right next to the outdoor tents where all of the pitch people were.   These pitch people sold everything from Salsa Makers, Ginsu Knives to the Swiffer.   I loved to watch the pros work the crowds and see the hundreds of people walk away with their products.  I know for a fact that all of those customers came to the fair and personally committed not to buy anything!  But after seeing the pitch they could not resist.

Let’s look at how these sales people were able to sell so many products to mostly reluctant buyers:

Let’s take the Super Chamois; I learned several lessons from this great salesman.  He always began his presentation by taking a nice piece of carpet that was light colored and set it in a tub; he then took a Dr. Pepper and dumped it all over the carpet.  This first lesson was “pain” and all the audience members related to this painful experience of spilling something on their light colored carpet.  Next he took out the Super Chamois, and blotted it on the carpet—and you could actually see the Dr. Pepper being absorbed up into the Chamois!

As he made this demonstration he talked about all of the uses for this amazing cloth in your car, boat, kitchen, bath tub spills, etc. and he showed the different sizes of Chamois.  With great enthusiasm he then created a package that included 2 of the large sizes and one of every other size and rolled them up into a nice bundle.  This is where it got really interesting.  He held up the bundle and gave the price of $19.99 (and I thought this was a great deal) but then with masterful precision he looked at the crowd and  said “I have 25 bundles ready to go right now, and for everyone who gives me their credit card right now, I’ll throw in a 2^nd bundle absolutely free!”  It was like a feeding frenzy as people pushed to the front to give their cards to this great salesperson.   

The lessons I learned that day were:

1.    Pain is a great motivator (spilled Dr. Pepper)

2.    Demonstrate the real product-  show dramatically how it works (the solution to your problem)

3.    Close with enthusiasm and build a valuable package

4.    Create urgency by increasing the value of the package

This simple concept of adding value instead of decreasing price can be effectively applied to real estate.  As an agent you have the ability to build a valuable marketing plan that increases your value.  Some of the things we do is hire a professional photographer to shoot the home, we post the listing on dozens of sites where consumers are looking for homes, track all the traffic using Obeo’s back office, we stage every home with a professional designer to ensure buyers can see themselves living in the home and much, much more. When we demonstrate all of these things to our sellers, they are embarrassed to ask for a discount because there is so much value.   In fact, at a listing appointment the other day I told the seller that I recommended that they pay an additional 1% above my standard commission rate so I could offer an incentive to any buyer’s agents who have buyers in the price range.  After seeing the value I provided they agreed to the increased commission.   Sales is not rocket science, it is the combination of understanding the pain or real problem of your client, then step by step creating a plan to solve this for their family.  This is done by increasing your value, not by decreasing your price. 

Bottom line:  People make decisions based on what agent they feel can solve their problem. An agent who does not know how (or can’t sell themselves or their services) can only compete by discounting their price.  This is never necessary.  I personally choose to be a full service, full price agent, and this philosophy allows me to provide a higher level of service to my clients.

Verl Workman is a leading national speaker, coach and consultant.  Despite his busy speaking schedule, and role as co-founder of Pinnacle Quest Consulting Group, he still sells real estate so that he can test and stay abreast of the latest tools and techniques that maximize results.  He uses that knowledge to assist individuals and companies in building effective business strategies, implementing powerful technology solutions, and establishing strategic competitive advantages through coaching, seminars and private consultations.  To contact Verl visit www.verlworkman.com or  www.PQPipeline.com or email him at AskVerl@verlworkman.com.

Follow Verl on Twitter: http://twitter.com/verlworkman

http://www.facebook.com/VerlWorkman 

Randy Eagar

1. Converse with People About Your Real Estate Business

On occasion, you can tweet positive news about your company and what news is happening. Be careful about doing this too much in that people get tired of self promoting tweets and will tend to delete you. Thus this promotion effect can best be used when interspersed with many of the other ideas that we’ll be talking about today such as sharing quotes, giving advice, commenting on the industry and more. The more comments you make the more visible you’re.

2. Establish a Good Database of Followers

The number one most easy way to get twitter followers is to simply follow others! Seems simple, yet not many people are doing it. All you do is search Twitter for the “gurus” in your niche, and follow the people that are following them. The gurus in your niche should have the bulk of your target market, that’s why I say to follow their followers.

3. Interact With Realtors From Other Parts Of The Country. 

They can be a great source of referrals. As more and more agents get onto the Twitter highway, you’ll be developing more of a database to cull more referrals. Twitter is one tool that will help you make connections with users that you’ll never have known before existed. You can get to know a whole different side of a person.

4. Use Twitpic To Share Photos Of Your New Listings.

Twitpic is a website that allows users to easily post pictures to the Twitter microblogging and social media service. You can easily locate it at TwitPic.com. If you’re a member of Twitter, then you’re already a member of Twitpic. You can post photos from your smartphone or the site itself.

5. Group Your Posts and Others Using the Hashtag

Even if you’re new to Twitter and read a few posts, you’ve probably recognized the hash symbol (”#”) attached to many posts. That’s what Twitter users call a “hashtag,” and at any given time at least one of them can usually be found among the trending topics on Twitter. But what exactly is a hashtag?

Hashtags are basically a simple way to catalog and connect tweets about a specific topic. They make it easier for users to find additional tweets on a particular subject, while filtering out the incidental tweets that may just coincidentally contain the same keyword. Hashtags are also often used by various Boards, Associations, Large real estate offices and event organizers as a method of keeping all tweets about the event in a single stream, and they’ve even been used to coordinate updates during emergencies. In fact, hashtags were first popularized during the 2007 San Diego wildfire, when the tag #sandiegofires was used to identify tweets about the natural disaster.

6. It’s the Next Big Thing Like the Wild West

I don’t know if you notice, but twitter is everywhere. It’s on the web, it’s on the news channels, it’s in commercials, it’s in paper media such as newspaper and now it’s even sewn within the fabric of some television shows. It’s taking over the world right now like facebook and myspace did at once. If you’re one of those people who joins things because it’s the next big thing, then this is your chance. Twitter is the next big thing that you should join because everyone is here.

7. It Helps Your Creativity and New Ideas

Marketing is all about being creative. Creative campaigns are short and sticky. That is how your tweets are suppose to be also. 140 characters max. You have to get your point across and if you want others to read it, you’ve got to make it interesting. Basically it’s an ultimate practice for you to elevate your pitch. No one likes to read a whole page of boring proposals. The best proposals I’ve agreed to were short and they had very catchy headlines. Twitter is a practice for you to write better and creative headlines, so after a while you’ll be a better blogger due to twitter because it’s helping your post titles. 

8. Say More By Referring To Shortened URLs

URL shortening is a technique on the World Wide Web where a provider makes a web page available under a very short URL in addition to the original address. For example, a page with a URL address 126 characters long can be shortened to as few as 19 or 20 characters.

9. Use Twitter to Get SEO Traffic To Your Website

Twitter is the best place to promote your product/services, whether it be homes or real estate practices right now because it’s hot. With so many new tools now, you can easily get your new blog posts or new products get across to thousands of new people every day. It’s not unheard of that one of your quality posts can be retweeted 50 times, and get around 2000 visitors from it. Twitter really helps boost traffic to your website and increase exposure. It’s a great way to drive traffic to your Web site, blogs, landing pages, events, etc. Although, you’ll be viewed as a spammer if you’re not judicious in this practice.

10. Point Others To Good Content

It’s not necessary to always be the content originator. Pointing to good content works too (and Twitter is the perfect platform for this).

On the Internet, as in life, people get major good will and brownie points for being helpful. So, even if you’re from time to time just the bird dog or pointer, people will remember you for helping them find useful information they need.

Pointing others to good material again establishes you as the expert of choice.

Randy Eagar, CRS
President WebsTarget SEO
www.WebsTarget.com
Randy@WebsTarget.com

Every successful business, every well run business is built and run with systems.  That is also true of every well run Real Estate Agent’s business.  We are declaring in our business that 2010 is ‘The Year of Systems.’ 

A Real Estate Agent has a particular challenge because there are so many systems required for a successful, well run, productive and profitable business.  There are time management and organizational systems, prospecting systems, marketing systems, listing systems and many more.

And there are systems within the systems.  In your listing system are your listing preparation system, your listing presentation system, and your communication with the Seller system, your pricing system, and many more here also.

So, throughout 2010 in our blogs, courses, webinars and coaching we are going to even more clearly teach and document each of these systems for you, how they work together, how to simply and permanently implement them into your business.

 If you think it’s been a tough year, bad market and find yourself thinking from a scarcity point of view, you might find yourself believing that there is little you can do to get more business…Think again!

Before you go with “scarcity thinking”, expert Harvey MacKay gives us 66 creative and meaningful ways to connect with even the most elusive prospects.

MacKay is the bestselling author of “Swim with the Sharks Without Being Eaten Alive”. He says, “Anyone can get the order if he’s willing to stretch the truth far enough. Whether you tell the truth or not, you don’t come out a winner just by getting the first big order. The mark of the pro is to get the RE-Order!”  That said, ask yourself these questions:

What am I willing to do to connect with a prospective client? (Or do I quit after a few attempts?)

Am I just trying to get another sale, or are their ways I can make an investment in a long term relationship?

In order to differentiate my service offering, by adding more value for this prospect by doing business with me?

A great lesson from MacKay’s book is found in Lesson #3 – He says, “Knowing something about your customer is just as important as knowing everything about you or your product”.

 MacKay was so passionate about wanting to know all he could about his customers; he is famous for developing his MacKay “66” question profile for each of his sales people to fill out on their customers. He is adamant that when we know more about our customer, we enjoy a huge advantage when they know we care about them, their needs and ultimately then we have earned the right to work with them.

All too often we fail the first step many high paid coaches, consultants and top performers knows and teaches:  Do a deep and thorough needs analysis of what THEY want, and not what you HAVE.  But first you have to get the appointment and be willing to accept the challenge of winning their business.

Asking questions and then clarifying the answers is one of the most powerful ways to establish confidence and begin building a bridge of trust between you and your prospect.  They want to know that you know not only what they want, but most importantly, why they want it. It is only when you act as their sales leader that you can help them determine what the appropriate solutions to their needs will actually be.  

Many times we approach our buyers and sellers with a barrage of self-serving information about our experience, tout top testimonials and are convinced that WE are the answer to their needs, when in fact, that may not be the case at all!  Regardless of your outstanding sales volume, negotiating acumen and years of experience, if they need a sales person who can speak Vietnamese, you may not be their best choice! 

The battle cry for successful sales that will never go out of style – RELATIONSHIP selling is the key to more sales. Ask well thought out questions, be a skilled active listener, and craft solutions with your prospects for best results.  You may not subscribe to doing a MacKay “66”, but knowing all the facts, motivations, limitations and best solutions for your customer will pave the way to create raving fans and endless referrals.

Bio: Terri Murphy is a speaker, communication consultant, and author of 5 books, including her latest with Donald Trump. She is the founder and Pres. of WomensWisdomNetwork.com and serves as CIO of U. S. Learning in Memphis.  email: Terri@TerriMurphy.com - for more information on the MacKay “66” visit http://www.harveymackay.com/tools/index.cfm

My self-appointed mentor, Albert Einstein, once said…
 
“The secret to creativity is knowing how
to hide your sources.”

I am a big fan of both the man and the message.  And here’s why…

Simply put…our own unwillingness to accept ourselves as creative beings bogs us down.  I happen to believe we are ALL wonderfully creative.  However, I also know that most of the time we don’t feel that way, especially when we’re working on marketing campaigns and other promotional endeavors in our work.

For example…

How many times have you sat in front of your computer screen and willed a brilliant ad to materialize?  If this sounds familiar to you, then I have a question:

How big is your marketing antenna?

What I mean by this is that creativity is simply being open to inspiration, and, if you have your antenna up – that is to say that if you are paying attention to other good marketing out there – you WILL learn the secrets of the master marketers. 

And I’m going to share one of those secrets with you right now!  Do you have your antenna up?  Well, get ready folks, this is a good one…

“It is better to edit than to create!”

Now you may be saying, “Just what does that mean?’  Well, let me explain… 

Creativity is driven by curiosity.  Pay attention! Ask questions!  Get inspired!  Success leaves clues, my friend!  Have that antenna up and you will find inspiration in the most unlikely places.

If you need to create a postcard, for example, you may find something really juicy you can use on the back of your grocery receipt, or in the way a dish is described on a menu.  Or your teenager might actually say something incredible that you can use!  Perhaps you can even justify reading that tabloid because the ads in the back have amazing copy that really gets your own writing juices flowing.

The National Enquirer is one of the most expensive magazines to advertise in, so those ads in the back HAVE TO work!

By taking an existing marketing piece and editing it as your own, all the work is done for you! You just have to breathe it all in and then make it our own –

what a relief, huh?!

Einstein was absolutely right… 

Creativity is being mindful enough to be stimulated by your environment.  You then simply edit and mold that environment to fit your needs.  We don’t need to reinvent the wheel every time we have to create a new ad or marketing piece – we simply have to let our surroundings illuminate our own wheels turning inside our heads. 

That Einstein was onto something. Maybe he was so in-tune with his environment that the theory of relativity was something he creatively lifted from him own surroundings! 

If we sharpen our own marketing antennas, we could ALL be little Einsteins…

changing the world one postcard at a time!

For more information on Jennifer Cummings, or to book her for your next event call 1-877-211-6472 Ext 4 or visit www.BrokerAgentSpeakers.com

Carla Cross, CRB, MA International Speaker

Managers: How are you doing in systemization? In this world of lightning change, we managers are struggling to stay even–much less get ahead. In our business, changes are occurring so quickly that, just as we start to organize a process, new considerations appear. These new considerations are not only occurring more quickly than ever, the technology to organize them is evolving at warp speed. Since you’re making your business plan for 2010 (you are, aren’t you….), it’s a perfect time to see whether you are ‘up to speed’ in your systemization. It will make all the difference in your time management.

A Different Definition of a Business Plan

 I love Michael Gerber’s definition of a business plan: “The sum of your systems is your business plan.” (Gerber is the author of the awesome business books, The E-Myth and The E-Myth Revisited.)

Two Systems Challenges for managers

             1. Create systems to manage processes through change

            2. Choose methods (including technology) to manage these systems

Let’s talk about the systems first. Good agents today have systems for each process they manage. For example, an agent has a listing process system, which includes the materials, packages, and checklists to manage the process. With those systems, agents can not only the manage the process, they can delegate the right activities to their assistants.

Agent Systems vs. Management Systems

 Think about the systems, processes, and checklists you, as manager, recommend that your agent create to accomplish the critical tasks, or activities, in his business. Now, compare that with the tasks you, as manager, have to accomplish in your position as “people” manager. Work from the tasks to systems to manage these tasks. To prioritize the systems you want to develop, first:

            1. List the tasks you do as manager. Now, list the parallel the tasks agents do.

An example: A critical task an agent does is to lead generate. Good agents have systematized that process into a marketing plan, complete with specific tactics, dates, and budget. Managers must prospect, too. They lead generate for agents.

Does your prospecting (recruiting) plan for agents resemble that of your best agent’s marketing plan? Is it as systematized? Does it have the materials, time frames, budgets, and delegations that good agents have in their plans?

            2. Now, prioritize your tasks as they relate to accomplishing your main objectives. What are the most important tasks you do as manager to assure your office makes a profit?

An example: If recruiting is very important to reaching your objective, how complete is your recruiting system? How organized is it? Who is involved with you in your recruiting plan? How well are you delegating the systems?

Prioritize your Job Description to Prioritize your Systemization

Now, you must either create or purchase systems to manage these processes. One reason managers haven’t systematized their work is that managers have few resources for systems organization. To actually systematize their work, they must create these systems from scratch. Given the myriad of activities managers must accomplish, that’s a daunting assignment. Instead, many managers stay in “crisis” management, which admittedly takes up a lot of the day, but doesn’t allow the manager to move ahead as a leader. (Weirdly, that’s what I like to do—create recruiting, selecting, coaching, and training systems so you don’t have to reinvent the wheel).

Next post: I’ll give you a list of the systems I think you should work toward so you end up working smarter, not harder.

Carla Cross, CRB, MA, is president of Carla Cross Seminars, Inc., Carla Cross Coaching, and Cross Institute. She is the author of 6 internationally published books, and 20 programs which provide complete systems for real estate agents and managers. She specializes in real estate management–focusing on increasing productivity and profitability with new performance strategies.  

 by Verl Workman, Speaker/Trainer/Coach

In a real estate world where so many people are struggling to stay afloat and survive, many agents and brokers are succeeding and thriving. Why is this? What makes the difference between being great and having real success while others are failing?  As I interview agents and brokers around the country I find that there is a very fine line between real success and mediocrity.  Most top performers have found that having a coach or a mentor who can look at their business from a different perceptive helps them make the necessary adjustments and tweaks to their systems to sky rocket them to success. 

I love watching great coaches from the sidelines of all major sports as they motivate and inspire their player to perform above their own personal beliefs.  A good coach inspires and guides his or her clients into trying new things and helps them accomplish their goals.  A great coach understands that the client’s goals and objectives are more important than the coaches.  A great coach does not have hidden agenda, but simply has their coaching students’ best interest at heart and the desire to help that individual achieve a higher level of success.

I have found in coaching literally hundreds of agents over the years, that most people know what they should do and they have been taught how to do it.  However, they simply don’t have the personal ability get off the dime and take action without the help of someone to hold them accountable.  That is where a good coach comes in; they have the ability to understand how people are motivated and how to hold them accountable without hurting the relationship.  This accountability concept is easily misunderstood.  Many coaches feel the need to brow-beat their clients into submission by yelling and screaming, and while this method may be effective for some, I have not found it very effective.

There are a lot of coaches and coaching styles out there including:

·         Mind set coaching

·         Business coaching

·         Marketing coaching

·         Private coaching

·         Group coaching

·         Technology coaching

·         And many more

Styles Include:

·         Hard core accountability

·         Curriculum based coaching delivered by hourly employee

·         Guru delivered coaching where the expert is your coach

·         Guilt based accountability where you love your coach and feel guilty if you don’t do your assignments

·         A sincere relationship between individuals base on mutual respect, where A has agreed to become accountable to B for certain agreed upon tasks. 

True coaching is much different than training. You see, with training you are given set things to learn with learning objectives that allow you to complete a course with some pre-determined knowledge.  The problem with most training is that practical application of that knowledge is often left out of the curriculum. 

I have always said that with training you learn something new, but with coaching you actually do something new, something different. 

As you begin your new year, maybe it’s time to really consider a coach. Find someone who really understands real estate and who actually has a track record of success. Look for a coach who has coached someone you know, who has the proven track record of helping people succeed, and most of all find a coach who you can really connect with! It’s important that you feel comfortable sharing your goals, dreams, and desires with this coach. 

I know that coaching works. I also know that sometimes people don’t (or aren’t) willing to work.  However, if you are willing to be coachable and held accountable, this could be your best year ever in real estate!

—————————————————————————————————————————————–

Verl Workman is a leading national speaker, coach and consultant. Despite his busy speaking schedule, and role as co-founder of Pinnacle Quest Consulting Group, he still sells real estate so that he can test and stay abreast of the latest tools and techniques that maximize results. He uses that knowledge to assist individuals and companies in building effective business strategies, implementing powerful technology solutions and establishing strategic competitive advantages through coaching, seminare and private consultations. To contact Verl, vist www.VerlWorkman.com or www.PQPipeline.com or email him at coach@verlworkman.com

Follow Verl on Twitter! http://twitter.com/VerlWorkman

http://www.Facebook.com/VerlWorkman 

Randy Eagar, CRS

Design and Content Issues

 

 

Above all is being found. What’s the point of having the best website on the planet if nobody knows you’re there? SEO, or Search Engine Optimization is to website marketing as real estate agents are to home and condo marketing.

Create your own website without the use of a professional to market it for you makes you a FSBO with your website marketing. And you wonder why you’re not getting leads.

Design can heavily affect the site’s success. The reason why a viewer will stay on your website is primarily content.

But with a pleasing and professional design, it will force the viewer to look just a little bit longer than they originally would have to see where the content is. This affects the site’s success.

Websites rise or fall depending upon content. If you never show the viewer good content, you’ve lost them. The content and design must dove tail one with another.

 The interesting thing is that Good content can make up for poor design. If the viewer is engaged in reading compelling content, they won’t care what the site looks like.
Focus on content first, and then build your design around your content. Know what you have to say, and then figure out a way to show what you want to say.

1- IDX/MLS Access

This is how your prospects are searching the MLS. They are going through agent websites in the comfort of their own homes looking for homes that meet their needs. One area of conflict is whether or not to force these prospects to sign a contact form in order to gain access to the MLS data. In many cases I’ve heard agents say that they feel that this causes buyers to go elsewhere, and others say that this is the only way to get the names and email addresses of their viewers. The best way that I can advise you is to try it both ways and see what works for you.

2- Featured Listings

One thing that we know is that sellers want to stand out from the crowd. They want to know that their home and their situation is unique and worth paying more for. Therefore, your marketing must exemplify this need.

3- Drip Marketing Campaigns

It’s only natural that we should spend just a little more time on some specifics of Drip Marketing as it’s so important, and is done in many different ways. Many of you think of “Drip Marketing” as sending out email notices or newsletters on a regular basis. However while that is “drip marketing”, that’s not the kind of drip marketing that will make your buyer’s socks roll up and down. What is most effective for “drip marketing” is when you give your potential buyer the ability to fill out a form of their preferences in a new home or condo and notify them of any current listings that meet their needs or an instant notification when a new listing comes on the market that meets these parameters.

Do you think that your prospects would like to know when new listings come out that meet their particular parameters; even before other agents know about them? You bet they do. And by definition, you’ll need to get their name, phone number and email in order to process this information for them. It’s a real win-win. For our clients that are making consistently over $100,000 just from their website, every one of them use this kind of drip marketing to magnify their leads to sales.

4- “Static” Page Content

Remember this one word: Compelling. The question is how can you make your website more compelling? A great deal of this can happen because of your content. The question is how can you write the kind of text that will make it persuasive for your prospects to want to stay around?

5- “Dynamic” Page Content

Dynamic page content is just the opposite of Static page content. Where Static page content can’t be changed by the viewer, it’s the purpose of dynamic pages to be changed by the viewer.

6- Video Tours

Video tours are now coming into their own. With faster bandwidth and more common video players and receivers, this is becoming the viewing method of choice. Note how our first example even gives a floorplan of the home, and shows which room we are viewing. Click on a different room and you jump to the video of that room.

7- Web 2.0 Blogs, Podcasts, Video, Social Network

Web 2.0 brings with it an entirely new way of communicating on the Internet.

For example if we look at blog sites, most of them were originally built as you see here with the use of text. Two important things that you’ll want to make sure that you take advantage of is the use of hypertext that will link your viewer to more information, and the use of RSS Feeds. The later gives your viewer the ability to “subscribe” to your blog site so that as you post new ideas and thoughts, these get sent to those who subscribe, just like a newspaper or magazine subscription.

8- Mash-Ups

Mash-ups are the combination of two or more technologies. The ones that we typically see are the use of the IDX with home searches and mapping software like Google Maps.

For a quick 2-minute video see Website Content Features at our WebsTarget website.

www.WebsTarget.com

Kelly, an Agent said to me, “Rich, I am feeling lazy and unmotivated.  I’m coming to the office and working hard and getting less and less results.”
I said, “It’s December 15th.  Why work so hard?”
She said, “Well, my Broker and Manager and all the trainers are saying that this is the time of year when Agents stop working so there is a lot of opportunity for those who keep working.”
I said, “Oh, I understand.  Let me ask you a couple questions.  Do you have some Christmas shopping to do, presents to wrap, food to prepare, time that you want to spend with your kids or plan to spend when they are out of school for vacation?”
She answered as you might expect with a bunch of things done and more to do.
So, I said, “Stop working.”
I said, “Serve the Clients that need your attention and slow down.”  I went on, “Remember in October and November I said the year is not winding down or wrapping up until the second week in December.  Well… it is the second week in December.  Wind down.” 
She said, “What about all the lost business that the others talk about?” 
“Well,” I said, “go shop for those last gifts.  Wrap presents.  Take your kids out for pizza.  Bake.  Do the things that will make you happy for the holidays; the things that will make you feel more love for your loved ones and more peaceful and fulfilled.  As you do, you will think about business.  Do what absolutely needs to be done.  And think about the year you are going to have next year.  If good ideas come to you, make notes.  Imagine the year you would most like to have.  Think about what you liked about last year and what you would change; and how next year will turn out with those corrections made.” 
“Wow!” She said. “That makes so much sense.  It fits.  I guess I just needed someone to give me permission to take my life back.” 
“Exactly,” I said. “I promise you that if you work hard against your nature until the end of the year you will come into the new year burned out, unhappy, less motivated and very possibly in a slump.  On the other hand, if you take your life back through the holidays.  Spend time with the people you love doing the things you want; thinking about your business with calm and peace.  You will enjoy the holiday break and you will start the year eager to put into place and into practice all the things you have been imagining.”
“Rich,” she said, “I am going to hang up the phone.  Go into my Broker’s office and wish him a Merry Christmas, go shopping, pick my kids up from school and enjoy my life.”
This is a true story.  And one that has been and will be repeated many times over the next week in my coaching Clients, on my webinars, in my blogs, and tweets. 
To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven.”  That is from Ecclesiastes III.  Now is the time to shop and the time to love; the time to wrap and the time to be wrapped for.
With love and peace, please take time for your life.  Happy Holidays!!!!

This is the remaining part of the Jennifer’s blog topic from 12/1/09…enjoy!

The Success Triad Fundamental #3:  Momentum

The final element of the success triad is momentum. A lot of times when the market slows we go into “analysis paralysis.”  We start trying to figure it out, but we forget to then take action.  A year or two ago you might have been able to take some time off, regroup and rest on your laurels – but that’s no longer the case.

The good news is that you only have to take a little action to surpass the competition.

I call the three key components to keeping the momentum up and taking action…

“The Three A’s of Action”:

1.      The First “A” of Action is that you must have an Actionable Environment.

Your environment can add to your energy or deplete it.  Simply put, your mother was right when she told you back in your high school days that “You are who you hang around!” In other words, don’t spend time with the “Negative Nellies” that bring you down and zap your energy. 

You want to spend your time with people that are future-focused and more successful than you.

Also, your physical space is important. Take a look around your office, your car, your home and ask yourself honestly, “Is my environment conducive to my success?”  

Get your house in order and prepare yourself to take action and be successful.

2.      The Second “A” of Action is Accountability. 

We are pros when it comes to rationalizing to ourselves, but what soon happens is that we build excuses instead of a business.

When it comes to accountability, hiring a coach may be the single most powerful thing you can do to get yourself into action. Most agents start trimming the budget when it comes to a slow market – but cutting a coach from your budget (or not having one in the first place) is the worst possible decision that you can make.

Hire the best coach or join a mastermind group that makes you tow the line. There are times when the “do it yourself” model just isn’t the right approach.  And relying solely on your own ability to motivate yourself day after day, week after week is the best way to end up making someone else’s morning mocha.

3.      The Third “A” of Action are setting Activity Goals.

These are the final keys you need to take the action necessary to create momentum. It is critical that you be focused on activity goals rather than performance goals. 

I teach my own private clients to take small, consistent, daily actions.  I would rather you do several small consistent activities on a long-term basis than one big bang.  It’s like trying to lose weight by having one marathon workout every month. You’ll just end up fat and sore. 

The same principle applies in your real estate business. Take small daily steps and make them habits that move you forward towards your goals.

==============================

Learning and implementing The Success Triad in your business will make you an agent that all other agents look up to. You can have everything you want in this market.  You can either thrive or survive.

It is up to you. 

But I will leave you with this. In a market like this it is actually easier to succeed and create a business that will take care of you for as long as you want to run it.  This is the market “that separates the boys from the men.”  Or the baristas from the super-agents…

To your success!

A Different View of Today’s Market…and How to Thrive In It! (Part 2)

This is the remaining part of the Jennifer’s blog topic from 12/1/09…enjoy!

The Success Triad Fundamental #3:  Momentum

The final element of the success triad is momentum. A lot of times when the market slows we go into “analysis paralysis.”  We start trying to figure it out, but we forget to then take action.  A year or two ago you might have been able to take some time off, regroup and rest on your laurels – but that’s no longer the case.

The good news is that you only have to take a little action to surpass the competition.

I call the three key components to keeping the momentum up and taking action…

“The Three A’s of Action”:

1.      The First “A” of Action is that you must have an Actionable Environment.

Your environment can add to your energy or deplete it.  Simply put, your mother was right when she told you back in your high school days that “You are who you hang around!” In other words, don’t spend time with the “Negative Nellies” that bring you down and zap your energy. 

You want to spend your time with people that are future-focused and more successful than you.

Also, your physical space is important. Take a look around your office, your car, your home and ask yourself honestly, “Is my environment conducive to my success?”  

Get your house in order and prepare yourself to take action and be successful.

2.      The Second “A” of Action is Accountability. 

We are pros when it comes to rationalizing to ourselves, but what soon happens is that we build excuses instead of a business.

When it comes to accountability, hiring a coach may be the single most powerful thing you can do to get yourself into action. Most agents start trimming the budget when it comes to a slow market – but cutting a coach from your budget (or not having one in the first place) is the worst possible decision that you can make.

Hire the best coach or join a mastermind group that makes you tow the line. There are times when the “do it yourself” model just isn’t the right approach.  And relying solely on your own ability to motivate yourself day after day, week after week is the best way to end up making someone else’s morning mocha.

3.      The Third “A” of Action are setting Activity Goals.

These are the final keys you need to take the action necessary to create momentum. It is critical that you be focused on activity goals rather than performance goals. 

I teach my own private clients to take small, consistent, daily actions.  I would rather you do several small consistent activities on a long-term basis than one big bang.  It’s like trying to lose weight by having one marathon workout every month. You’ll just end up fat and sore. 

The same principle applies in your real estate business. Take small daily steps and make them habits that move you forward towards your goals.

==============================

Learning and implementing The Success Triad in your business will make you an agent that all other agents look up to. You can have everything you want in this market.  You can either thrive or survive.

It is up to you. 

But I will leave you with this. In a market like this it is actually easier to succeed and create a business that will take care of you for as long as you want to run it.  This is the market “that separates the boys from the men.”  Or the baristas from the super-agents…

To your success!

A Different View of Today’s Market…and How to Thrive In It! (Part 2)

This is the remaining part of the Jennifer’s blog topic from 12/1/09…enjoy!

The Success Triad Fundamental #3:  Momentum

The final element of the success triad is momentum. A lot of times when the market slows we go into “analysis paralysis.”  We start trying to figure it out, but we forget to then take action.  A year or two ago you might have been able to take some time off, regroup and rest on your laurels – but that’s no longer the case.

The good news is that you only have to take a little action to surpass the competition.

I call the three key components to keeping the momentum up and taking action…

“The Three A’s of Action”:

1.      The First “A” of Action is that you must have an Actionable Environment.

Your environment can add to your energy or deplete it.  Simply put, your mother was right when she told you back in your high school days that “You are who you hang around!” In other words, don’t spend time with the “Negative Nellies” that bring you down and zap your energy. 

You want to spend your time with people that are future-focused and more successful than you.

Also, your physical space is important. Take a look around your office, your car, your home and ask yourself honestly, “Is my environment conducive to my success?”  

Get your house in order and prepare yourself to take action and be successful.

2.      The Second “A” of Action is Accountability. 

We are pros when it comes to rationalizing to ourselves, but what soon happens is that we build excuses instead of a business.

When it comes to accountability, hiring a coach may be the single most powerful thing you can do to get yourself into action. Most agents start trimming the budget when it comes to a slow market – but cutting a coach from your budget (or not having one in the first place) is the worst possible decision that you can make.

Hire the best coach or join a mastermind group that makes you tow the line. There are times when the “do it yourself” model just isn’t the right approach.  And relying solely on your own ability to motivate yourself day after day, week after week is the best way to end up making someone else’s morning mocha.

3.      The Third “A” of Action are setting Activity Goals.

These are the final keys you need to take the action necessary to create momentum. It is critical that you be focused on activity goals rather than performance goals. 

I teach my own private clients to take small, consistent, daily actions.  I would rather you do several small consistent activities on a long-term basis than one big bang.  It’s like trying to lose weight by having one marathon workout every month. You’ll just end up fat and sore. 

The same principle applies in your real estate business. Take small daily steps and make them habits that move you forward towards your goals.

==============================

Learning and implementing The Success Triad in your business will make you an agent that all other agents look up to. You can have everything you want in this market.  You can either thrive or survive.

It is up to you. 

But I will leave you with this. In a market like this it is actually easier to succeed and create a business that will take care of you for as long as you want to run it.  This is the market “that separates the boys from the men.”  Or the baristas from the super-agents…

To your success!

For more information on Jennifer Cummings or to book her for your next event visit www.BrokerAgentSpeakers.com or call 1-877-211-6472.