Provided By KW Blog
Since 2008, when the first of four benefit fundraisers was held, the agents from the Keller Williams Arlington market center have raised approximately $150,000 for the Arlington Food Assistance Center (AFAC). With their annual party extraordinaire, the agents have accomplished their mission to help the Arlington Food Assistance Center to pay off the mortgage on its food warehouse and distribution center.
The event is held each November at the Clarendon Ballroom, a local hot spot. Local and national politicians have attended. Television celebrities such as HGTV’s Sabrina Soto, and The Chew’s Chef Carla Hall have been special guests and auction items have been donated by the likes of Oprah Winfrey and Chris Rock. This year they were able to secure tickets to the sold out Broadway musical, The Book of Mormon as one of the live auction items! All this has made the “Pay It Forward Pay It Off!” fundraiser one of the “must attend” events of the year.
Congressman Jim Moran and Redskins legend Gary Clark were in the house this year and the Mistress of Ceremony was the lovely television anchor, Cynne Simpson from ABC7/WJLA. Great food, wonderful live entertainment and serious bidding during the auction kept the party lively from beginning to end. “We had no idea when we started brainstorming about a fundraiser at a KW Cares meeting in the summer of 2008 that a bunch of full-time real estate agents could pull off something so fabulously successful and raise so much money for such a worthy organization.” These are the words of Keller Williams Arlington agent Gayle Fleming, who along with a core group of dedicated agents worked tirelessly to make the event a success each year. The 2011 event on November 10th raised $45,000—the most ever from a single event.
They were rewarded when Beth Kiley Johnson, director of AFAC’s Permanent Home Campaign, said: “We are pleased to announce that our mortgage has been paid and the funds borrowed for the down payment have been replenished.” The Arlington market center has been the largest single donor to the $1 million campaign. “No community partner has worked as tirelessly on this effort as the Community Outreach Committee of Keller Williams, Arlington,” said Moran, in a Congressional Proclamation on the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives in June.
Although this particular goal has been met, the Arlington agents are already thinking about what worthwhile community organization they want to help next year. Serving the community has been an important function of the Keller Williams Arlington market center. It has unified the agents in a common goal and displayed the culture of caring that sets Keller Williams Realty apart from any other company!
Wednesday, December 21, 2011
Monday, December 19, 2011
Rockwall KW Class Schedule
Monday Dec 19th
11:00-12:00 Profit Share (Ryan)
Tuesday Dec 20th
9:00-10:00 MREA (Sharon)
10:00-11:00 Sales Meeting
12:00-1:00 What to Say to Your Database (Jason P)
Wednesday Dec 21st
10:00-11:00 Win Win Contracts (Ryan)
Thursday Dec 22nd
10:00-11:00 KW Technology (Pam, Eliot)
Friday Dec 23rd
Office CLOSES at 12! Merry Christmas!
11:00-12:00 Profit Share (Ryan)
Tuesday Dec 20th
9:00-10:00 MREA (Sharon)
10:00-11:00 Sales Meeting
12:00-1:00 What to Say to Your Database (Jason P)
Wednesday Dec 21st
10:00-11:00 Win Win Contracts (Ryan)
Thursday Dec 22nd
10:00-11:00 KW Technology (Pam, Eliot)
Friday Dec 23rd
Office CLOSES at 12! Merry Christmas!
Thursday, December 15, 2011
The Importance of Staying Present
Provided By KW Blog
With more than 10 million books sold and over fifty years of experience under his belt, Harvey Mackay has plenty to offer in the way of sales advice. I was lucky enough to receive an advanced copy of this legend’s most recent book, The Mackay MBA of Selling in the Real World, which recently landed the No. 1 spot on the Wall Street Journal’s Best Seller list, and would like to share an aha.
In the book, Mackay tells of his experience seeing Billy Crystal’s one-man show, 700 Sundays, not once, but twice. “Both were sensational!” He talks about Tony Bennett singing the same song, over and over and over again, for more than fifty years. “It’s exciting every single time!” To Mackay, these guys are pros. Every show is treated as the one-and-only time they will ever perform. Even though the audience knows there were seven, thirty-two or 119 shows before the one they’re seeing, there’s no contest this is the best performance yet.
Mackay credits his aha moment of this working model to his college golf coach, who said: “Every drive you hit… every approach shot you make… every putt you stroke… you say to yourself, ‘This is the last drive I will ever hit. This is the last approach shot I will every make. This is the last putt I will ever stroke. Therefore, it better be my best.’ ”
Sales is repetitive. That’s all there is to it. Your only option is to be completely present in every single conversation you have about your business. You must be passionate and treat every opportunity as if it is your last. Every potential client must be treated as a precious resource. It’s easier said than done. Time and again when we interview the best-of-the-best we observe they aren’t necessarily doing extraordinary things, but rather bring extraordinary effort to the monotonous everyday task that lead to extraordinary results.
What are the areas of your business where you are making a commitment to be present every time?
–Jay Papasan
p.s. As a thank you to Keller Williams Realty’s continued support, Harvey is giving us access to his book “Harvey Mackay The Network Builder.” I encourage you all to go check it out. Here’s the link: http://www.harveymackay.com/bonus/
With more than 10 million books sold and over fifty years of experience under his belt, Harvey Mackay has plenty to offer in the way of sales advice. I was lucky enough to receive an advanced copy of this legend’s most recent book, The Mackay MBA of Selling in the Real World, which recently landed the No. 1 spot on the Wall Street Journal’s Best Seller list, and would like to share an aha.
In the book, Mackay tells of his experience seeing Billy Crystal’s one-man show, 700 Sundays, not once, but twice. “Both were sensational!” He talks about Tony Bennett singing the same song, over and over and over again, for more than fifty years. “It’s exciting every single time!” To Mackay, these guys are pros. Every show is treated as the one-and-only time they will ever perform. Even though the audience knows there were seven, thirty-two or 119 shows before the one they’re seeing, there’s no contest this is the best performance yet.
Mackay credits his aha moment of this working model to his college golf coach, who said: “Every drive you hit… every approach shot you make… every putt you stroke… you say to yourself, ‘This is the last drive I will ever hit. This is the last approach shot I will every make. This is the last putt I will ever stroke. Therefore, it better be my best.’ ”
Sales is repetitive. That’s all there is to it. Your only option is to be completely present in every single conversation you have about your business. You must be passionate and treat every opportunity as if it is your last. Every potential client must be treated as a precious resource. It’s easier said than done. Time and again when we interview the best-of-the-best we observe they aren’t necessarily doing extraordinary things, but rather bring extraordinary effort to the monotonous everyday task that lead to extraordinary results.
What are the areas of your business where you are making a commitment to be present every time?
–Jay Papasan
p.s. As a thank you to Keller Williams Realty’s continued support, Harvey is giving us access to his book “Harvey Mackay The Network Builder.” I encourage you all to go check it out. Here’s the link: http://www.harveymackay.com/bonus/
Tuesday, December 13, 2011
Older Entries Are You Surrounded by the Best?
Provided By KW Blog
If I had to pick one defining moment in the history of Keller Williams Realty, it would have to be a conversation that I had with a consultant back in 1994, when I was trying to map out a strategy for expanding our company outside of Texas. He said, “You know, I’ve looked at your goals; I’ve looked at your organization, and it’s going to take about 14 or 15 people for you to hit your goals.”
At the time, I thought it was going to take about 60,000 people, and when I told him that, he drew an organizational chart that showed me how I could make it happen with the right 14 people who would hire and empower their own teams of people and so on. He was right, and he’s still a consultant for us.
This was more than a pivotal lesson in hiring. It was the conversation that sparked our company’s whole philosophy of succeeding through others, as well as our understanding that the people we surround ourselves with, make all the difference in our success or failure. Without exception, I find that the most successful people in real estate and in life are those who are very intentional about seeking out and surrounding themselves with the very best.
I often think back to that turning point in our company’s history during conversations with mega achievers, so it’s no surprise that it came up when I had the pleasure of visiting with Greg Harrelson, founder of The Century 21 Harrelson Group in Myrtle Beach, S.C.
In 2010, The Harrelson Group’s 18-person team closed more than 700 deals. Even though Greg says he now functions as more of a coach for his team than as a real estate agent, he personally closed more than 100 of those deals. At the age of 40, he’s clearly doing a lot of things right and has been very focused on surrounding himself with the right people. His passion at this point in his career is simply to fuel the success of those in his inner circle.
Here are some of the highlights of our conversation:
On standing on the shoulders of giants
At the age of 27, after four years of working for his Dad’s real estate team, which was doing about 120 deals a year, Greg says “The ego was kicking in and I started seeing that there was a lot of upside in me becoming the No. 1 decision-maker on the team. My Dad agreed and the next thing you know, we are doing 160 deals a year, 180 deals a year, 240 deals a year, 300 deals a year, 330 deals, all the way up to 484, which is the number of deals we closed in 2004, the year my Dad retired. And that was my mission – a secure retirement for him and my Mom. I recognized that he brought me into this business and he guided me and trusted me and supported me when I was going in all of these different directions. He was my No. 1 team man and we did it together to 484 deals. My next goal was to build a team with the highest per-person production in our market.”
On leverage
“Tony DiCello was my coach when he was with The Mike Ferry Organization and one day we divided my day into income-generating activities and income-servicing activities. Once I looked that list I declared that I would never do income servicing activities again, and that concept now carries through my entire team. Income generators do nothing but generate and income services do nothing but service. Our current teams consists of eight listing agents, six buyers agents, a closing coordinator who takes over once the contract is signed, a listing coordinator who is currently handling 550 active listings, a broker/manager, and an executive assistant. ”
On lead generation
“Cold calling FSBOs and expireds represents about 10 percent of our business. We’ve built a huge data base over the years and the goal is to turn cold calls into warm calls, warm calls into a sphere of influence, and the sphere of influence into advocates. I’m doing that by communicating a lot and serving as a resource for information. We’re really concentrate on giving value to our database. One example: a few weeks ago we sent out a letter to our entire database concerning our county’s five-year reassessment of property values, letting them know that our staff was on hand to mail the appeal form to them if they needed it, as well as a list of the previous year’s closed sales out of the MLS. That spread virally through our market. People were forwarding it and we got a lot of calls from outside of the database – which expanded our sphere.”
On talent
“I look for someone who has a strong desire to succeed, someone who has a systematic approach to doing business, and someone who is coachable – willing to do whatever it takes. If those three things are there, I invite them to ‘test drive’ in our training center. We have a large room where everyone prospects together – no individual offices. If they show up a second day, that’s a good thing and then we talk about whether they feel comfortable in the environment. If they want to keep going, I hand them all of our scripts and before they can go to work, they need demonstrate that they know the scripts. No one starts working without being script certified.”
On growth
My intention is no longer to grow my personal business. I’m really focused on helping my people to grow their businesses. When I was coaching with Tony DiCello, we had two years in a row when we did 300 deals and when we looked at what went wrong, why we hadn’t grown, we decided that I needed to stop setting monetary goals and needed to start setting goals of how many people we were going to help. We took money out of the equation and started to focus on making a difference and serving people. That was the point at which we broke through.
If I had to pick one defining moment in the history of Keller Williams Realty, it would have to be a conversation that I had with a consultant back in 1994, when I was trying to map out a strategy for expanding our company outside of Texas. He said, “You know, I’ve looked at your goals; I’ve looked at your organization, and it’s going to take about 14 or 15 people for you to hit your goals.”
At the time, I thought it was going to take about 60,000 people, and when I told him that, he drew an organizational chart that showed me how I could make it happen with the right 14 people who would hire and empower their own teams of people and so on. He was right, and he’s still a consultant for us.
This was more than a pivotal lesson in hiring. It was the conversation that sparked our company’s whole philosophy of succeeding through others, as well as our understanding that the people we surround ourselves with, make all the difference in our success or failure. Without exception, I find that the most successful people in real estate and in life are those who are very intentional about seeking out and surrounding themselves with the very best.
I often think back to that turning point in our company’s history during conversations with mega achievers, so it’s no surprise that it came up when I had the pleasure of visiting with Greg Harrelson, founder of The Century 21 Harrelson Group in Myrtle Beach, S.C.
In 2010, The Harrelson Group’s 18-person team closed more than 700 deals. Even though Greg says he now functions as more of a coach for his team than as a real estate agent, he personally closed more than 100 of those deals. At the age of 40, he’s clearly doing a lot of things right and has been very focused on surrounding himself with the right people. His passion at this point in his career is simply to fuel the success of those in his inner circle.
Here are some of the highlights of our conversation:
On standing on the shoulders of giants
At the age of 27, after four years of working for his Dad’s real estate team, which was doing about 120 deals a year, Greg says “The ego was kicking in and I started seeing that there was a lot of upside in me becoming the No. 1 decision-maker on the team. My Dad agreed and the next thing you know, we are doing 160 deals a year, 180 deals a year, 240 deals a year, 300 deals a year, 330 deals, all the way up to 484, which is the number of deals we closed in 2004, the year my Dad retired. And that was my mission – a secure retirement for him and my Mom. I recognized that he brought me into this business and he guided me and trusted me and supported me when I was going in all of these different directions. He was my No. 1 team man and we did it together to 484 deals. My next goal was to build a team with the highest per-person production in our market.”
On leverage
“Tony DiCello was my coach when he was with The Mike Ferry Organization and one day we divided my day into income-generating activities and income-servicing activities. Once I looked that list I declared that I would never do income servicing activities again, and that concept now carries through my entire team. Income generators do nothing but generate and income services do nothing but service. Our current teams consists of eight listing agents, six buyers agents, a closing coordinator who takes over once the contract is signed, a listing coordinator who is currently handling 550 active listings, a broker/manager, and an executive assistant. ”
On lead generation
“Cold calling FSBOs and expireds represents about 10 percent of our business. We’ve built a huge data base over the years and the goal is to turn cold calls into warm calls, warm calls into a sphere of influence, and the sphere of influence into advocates. I’m doing that by communicating a lot and serving as a resource for information. We’re really concentrate on giving value to our database. One example: a few weeks ago we sent out a letter to our entire database concerning our county’s five-year reassessment of property values, letting them know that our staff was on hand to mail the appeal form to them if they needed it, as well as a list of the previous year’s closed sales out of the MLS. That spread virally through our market. People were forwarding it and we got a lot of calls from outside of the database – which expanded our sphere.”
On talent
“I look for someone who has a strong desire to succeed, someone who has a systematic approach to doing business, and someone who is coachable – willing to do whatever it takes. If those three things are there, I invite them to ‘test drive’ in our training center. We have a large room where everyone prospects together – no individual offices. If they show up a second day, that’s a good thing and then we talk about whether they feel comfortable in the environment. If they want to keep going, I hand them all of our scripts and before they can go to work, they need demonstrate that they know the scripts. No one starts working without being script certified.”
On growth
My intention is no longer to grow my personal business. I’m really focused on helping my people to grow their businesses. When I was coaching with Tony DiCello, we had two years in a row when we did 300 deals and when we looked at what went wrong, why we hadn’t grown, we decided that I needed to stop setting monetary goals and needed to start setting goals of how many people we were going to help. We took money out of the equation and started to focus on making a difference and serving people. That was the point at which we broke through.
Thursday, December 1, 2011
Four Rules For Your Financial Future
Provided By Realty Times
Most Agents begin their real estate career with the hope of gaining financial independence. They are attracted by the possibility of earning large sums of money. Even when Agents make more than a six-figure income, the vast majority have not dramatically improved their financial balance sheet. After looking at hundreds of agents’ profit and loss statements and personal spending habits, I’ve determined that real estate agents are poorly prepared for financial independence. Why should real estate agents be any different from the American population in general?
According to the Social Security Administration, statistics indicate that, out of a randomly selected one thousand people from age twenty-five to age sixty-five:
•190 would have died – 19%
•150 would have incomes over $30,000 – 15%
•660 would have incomes less than $30,000 – 66%
Let’s look at these numbers. There are more people who have deceased than are earning something even close to a decent quality of life. Of the people still alive, 66% exist on less than $30,000 per year. My question is which group do you want to be in? Which group are you heading for based on your financial plan, investment choices, and savings plan? These are the top three reasons people fail in their finances:
•They never create a financial plan.
•They make poor investment choices.
•They put off starting a savings plan.
Let me share with you a few simple rules that will ensure that you don’t join the 66% group. I have used these rules with hundreds of agents to transform their financial picture in a short period of time.
Rule #1 – Track your expenses, both business and personal
You must know where your money is going. Separate your business expenses from your personal expenses. Establish a business checking account and pay all business bills through it. Too many agents co-mingle their business commission checks and business bills with personal and household expenses. It is more difficult to control your money when you can’t track it. Enter all of your expenses and revenue in an accounting software program. I think the easiest is Quicken. Quicken will allow you to accurately track your costs to run the business, then you can run a monthly profit and loss statement to see where you are spending your money. The money you earn in real estate can come in bunches. It can become very easy to spend that large commission check that’s burning a hole in your pocket.
When we have money, a want looks like a need because we have the ability to buy it. We begin to rationalize our wants into needs. For most of us, a want is something that our neighbor already owns, so it becomes a need.
Rule #2 – Adjust your lifestyle
Spending less than you earn makes up 90% of financial planning. The premise involves saving money and making sacrifices. The ability to pay now, in the form of adjusting your lifestyle and saving the difference, will allow you to play later. To play later, you will need more than $30,000 per year. Thomas Stanley, who wrote the book The Millionaire Next Door, summed up how the vast majority accumulated their millions: “They lived well below their means.” Living beyond our means is a national epidemic. Consumer credit card debt in the United States is in excess of $528 billion. Roughly two-thirds of Americans who have credit cards do not pay off their monthly balance. We are clearly living beyond our means. Take a close look at your monthly obligations and evaluate where you are spending your money.
Rule #3 – Aggressively reduce your debt
There is an old Proverb that speaks of a borrower being a servant to the lender. The weight and pressure of debt can be crippling. I have seen this happen to Agents for years. I have even seen it manifested in my own life. I have not always made the wisest choices with my money. Fortunately, I have made more wise choices than foolish ones.
If you have credit card debts, make a decision to pay them off. Start with the highest interest rate credit card first. Decide on a monthly amount that you can commit to start reducing your debt. If you stretch, you will be able to find a few hundred dollars per month to pay towards your debt. Most credit card companies require you to pay 2% of the balance owed monthly. Let’s look at that practice. Let’s say you have a debt of $2,705 with an interest rate of 18.38%. Your 2% toward the outstanding balance would take you twenty-seven years and two months to pay off. You would pay $11,047 of total interest. How do you feel about eating out more often now? If you increased your payment to 8% or to $216.40 per month, it would take two years and one month to pay it off. You would pay $94.00 in interest. You need to accelerate your payments to reduce your debt. You must adopt a cash mentality. This cash mentality will allow you to charge only what you have funds to pay for.
Rule #4 – Create a savings plan now
The biggest enemy in financial planning is procrastination. People wait too long to start saving. The truth is becoming a millionaire is not very difficult. The power of compounding interest will take care of your needs. According to Investors Business Daily, a twenty-year-old person only needs to invest $1,014 per year, or $2.78 per day, with an annual return of 11% to have $1 million saved by the age of sixty-five. Look at the daily number of $2.78. Who couldn’t save that amount per day, even at the age of twenty? Even someone working for minimum wage could do that with ease. My mentor, Jim Rohn, used to say, “What is easy to do is also easy not to do”. It’s easy to save the $2.78, but it’s also easy to buy a latte every day at Starbucks instead of saving. That’s all we are talking about here – choosing financial independence planning rather than the latte.
We need to create a system to automatically remove the money when we receive it. We need to transform ourselves into savers. Savers pay themselves first. It’s amazing how little you miss money that never comes into your possession. We are not a nation of savers, although we really need to be. On average, Americans save less than 5% of their disposable income.
The secret to saving is writing the check to savings first. Do it before paying other bills and obligations. Savings is a habit to be forged. Here is the formula I used on each of my commission checks for many years:
•20% went to a tax account
•10% went to a retirement savings account
•10% went to a business savings account
These percentages ensured that my taxes were always current and my retirement account was always fully funded.
Most Agents begin their real estate career with the hope of gaining financial independence. They are attracted by the possibility of earning large sums of money. Even when Agents make more than a six-figure income, the vast majority have not dramatically improved their financial balance sheet. After looking at hundreds of agents’ profit and loss statements and personal spending habits, I’ve determined that real estate agents are poorly prepared for financial independence. Why should real estate agents be any different from the American population in general?
According to the Social Security Administration, statistics indicate that, out of a randomly selected one thousand people from age twenty-five to age sixty-five:
•190 would have died – 19%
•150 would have incomes over $30,000 – 15%
•660 would have incomes less than $30,000 – 66%
Let’s look at these numbers. There are more people who have deceased than are earning something even close to a decent quality of life. Of the people still alive, 66% exist on less than $30,000 per year. My question is which group do you want to be in? Which group are you heading for based on your financial plan, investment choices, and savings plan? These are the top three reasons people fail in their finances:
•They never create a financial plan.
•They make poor investment choices.
•They put off starting a savings plan.
Let me share with you a few simple rules that will ensure that you don’t join the 66% group. I have used these rules with hundreds of agents to transform their financial picture in a short period of time.
Rule #1 – Track your expenses, both business and personal
You must know where your money is going. Separate your business expenses from your personal expenses. Establish a business checking account and pay all business bills through it. Too many agents co-mingle their business commission checks and business bills with personal and household expenses. It is more difficult to control your money when you can’t track it. Enter all of your expenses and revenue in an accounting software program. I think the easiest is Quicken. Quicken will allow you to accurately track your costs to run the business, then you can run a monthly profit and loss statement to see where you are spending your money. The money you earn in real estate can come in bunches. It can become very easy to spend that large commission check that’s burning a hole in your pocket.
When we have money, a want looks like a need because we have the ability to buy it. We begin to rationalize our wants into needs. For most of us, a want is something that our neighbor already owns, so it becomes a need.
Rule #2 – Adjust your lifestyle
Spending less than you earn makes up 90% of financial planning. The premise involves saving money and making sacrifices. The ability to pay now, in the form of adjusting your lifestyle and saving the difference, will allow you to play later. To play later, you will need more than $30,000 per year. Thomas Stanley, who wrote the book The Millionaire Next Door, summed up how the vast majority accumulated their millions: “They lived well below their means.” Living beyond our means is a national epidemic. Consumer credit card debt in the United States is in excess of $528 billion. Roughly two-thirds of Americans who have credit cards do not pay off their monthly balance. We are clearly living beyond our means. Take a close look at your monthly obligations and evaluate where you are spending your money.
Rule #3 – Aggressively reduce your debt
There is an old Proverb that speaks of a borrower being a servant to the lender. The weight and pressure of debt can be crippling. I have seen this happen to Agents for years. I have even seen it manifested in my own life. I have not always made the wisest choices with my money. Fortunately, I have made more wise choices than foolish ones.
If you have credit card debts, make a decision to pay them off. Start with the highest interest rate credit card first. Decide on a monthly amount that you can commit to start reducing your debt. If you stretch, you will be able to find a few hundred dollars per month to pay towards your debt. Most credit card companies require you to pay 2% of the balance owed monthly. Let’s look at that practice. Let’s say you have a debt of $2,705 with an interest rate of 18.38%. Your 2% toward the outstanding balance would take you twenty-seven years and two months to pay off. You would pay $11,047 of total interest. How do you feel about eating out more often now? If you increased your payment to 8% or to $216.40 per month, it would take two years and one month to pay it off. You would pay $94.00 in interest. You need to accelerate your payments to reduce your debt. You must adopt a cash mentality. This cash mentality will allow you to charge only what you have funds to pay for.
Rule #4 – Create a savings plan now
The biggest enemy in financial planning is procrastination. People wait too long to start saving. The truth is becoming a millionaire is not very difficult. The power of compounding interest will take care of your needs. According to Investors Business Daily, a twenty-year-old person only needs to invest $1,014 per year, or $2.78 per day, with an annual return of 11% to have $1 million saved by the age of sixty-five. Look at the daily number of $2.78. Who couldn’t save that amount per day, even at the age of twenty? Even someone working for minimum wage could do that with ease. My mentor, Jim Rohn, used to say, “What is easy to do is also easy not to do”. It’s easy to save the $2.78, but it’s also easy to buy a latte every day at Starbucks instead of saving. That’s all we are talking about here – choosing financial independence planning rather than the latte.
We need to create a system to automatically remove the money when we receive it. We need to transform ourselves into savers. Savers pay themselves first. It’s amazing how little you miss money that never comes into your possession. We are not a nation of savers, although we really need to be. On average, Americans save less than 5% of their disposable income.
The secret to saving is writing the check to savings first. Do it before paying other bills and obligations. Savings is a habit to be forged. Here is the formula I used on each of my commission checks for many years:
•20% went to a tax account
•10% went to a retirement savings account
•10% went to a business savings account
These percentages ensured that my taxes were always current and my retirement account was always fully funded.
Tuesday, November 29, 2011
Green Week…Every Week!
Provided By KW Blog
Thanks for joining us in celebrating KW Green Week! We hope you enjoyed the green webinars and blog posts, as well as the quick green tips and free book pop quizzes on our Green Your Home Facebook page.
But, don’t let the end of Green Week be the end of your Green journey! Keep your own Green Week going throughout the year-remember we are constantly updating our Green Your Home Facebook page with tips and articles to read and share with your sphere. Use them on your own page-that is why we post them!
Also, pick up and read a copy of Green Your Home-it is an easy-to-understand guide that will make you even more comfortable in guiding your clients. And, with the holidays around the corner, this is also a perfect time for you to give it to current and past clients as a gift!
Make Green Week every week starting now!
Green Week Blog Posts:
Red is Green
Take a Peek into Green Your Home
Six Things to Think About Before You Suggest Green Improvements
Why Green Networks Offer a Win-Win for You and Your Sphere of Influence
GreenWorks Realty of Seattle Joins Keller Williams
Thanks for joining us in celebrating KW Green Week! We hope you enjoyed the green webinars and blog posts, as well as the quick green tips and free book pop quizzes on our Green Your Home Facebook page.
But, don’t let the end of Green Week be the end of your Green journey! Keep your own Green Week going throughout the year-remember we are constantly updating our Green Your Home Facebook page with tips and articles to read and share with your sphere. Use them on your own page-that is why we post them!
Also, pick up and read a copy of Green Your Home-it is an easy-to-understand guide that will make you even more comfortable in guiding your clients. And, with the holidays around the corner, this is also a perfect time for you to give it to current and past clients as a gift!
Make Green Week every week starting now!
Green Week Blog Posts:
Red is Green
Take a Peek into Green Your Home
Six Things to Think About Before You Suggest Green Improvements
Why Green Networks Offer a Win-Win for You and Your Sphere of Influence
GreenWorks Realty of Seattle Joins Keller Williams
Thursday, November 24, 2011
Tuesday, November 22, 2011
The Importance of Staying Present
Provided By KW Blog
With more than 10 million books sold and over fifty years of experience under his belt, Harvey Mackay has plenty to offer in the way of sales advice. I was lucky enough to receive an advanced copy of this legend’s most recent book, The Mackay MBA of Selling in the Real World, which recently landed the No. 1 spot on the Wall Street Journal’s Best Seller list, and would like to share an aha.
In the book, Mackay tells of his experience seeing Billy Crystal’s one-man show, 700 Sundays, not once, but twice. “Both were sensational!” He talks about Tony Bennett singing the same song, over and over and over again, for more than fifty years. “It’s exciting every single time!” To Mackay, these guys are pros. Every show is treated as the one-and-only time they will ever perform. Even though the audience knows there were seven, thirty-two or 119 shows before the one they’re seeing, there’s no contest this is the best performance yet.
Mackay credits his aha moment of this working model to his college golf coach, who said: “Every drive you hit… every approach shot you make… every putt you stroke… you say to yourself, ‘This is the last drive I will ever hit. This is the last approach shot I will every make. This is the last putt I will ever stroke. Therefore, it better be my best.’ ”
Sales is repetitive. That’s all there is to it. Your only option is to be completely present in every single conversation you have about your business. You must be passionate and treat every opportunity as if it is your last. Every potential client must be treated as a precious resource. It’s easier said than done. Time and again when we interview the best-of-the-best we observe they aren’t necessarily doing extraordinary things, but rather bring extraordinary effort to the monotonous everyday task that lead to extraordinary results.
What are the areas of your business where you are making a commitment to be present every time?
–Jay Papasan
p.s. As a thank you to Keller Williams Realty’s continued support, Harvey is giving us access to his book “Harvey Mackay The Network Builder.” I encourage you all to go check it out. Here’s the link: http://www.harveymackay.com/bonus/
With more than 10 million books sold and over fifty years of experience under his belt, Harvey Mackay has plenty to offer in the way of sales advice. I was lucky enough to receive an advanced copy of this legend’s most recent book, The Mackay MBA of Selling in the Real World, which recently landed the No. 1 spot on the Wall Street Journal’s Best Seller list, and would like to share an aha.
In the book, Mackay tells of his experience seeing Billy Crystal’s one-man show, 700 Sundays, not once, but twice. “Both were sensational!” He talks about Tony Bennett singing the same song, over and over and over again, for more than fifty years. “It’s exciting every single time!” To Mackay, these guys are pros. Every show is treated as the one-and-only time they will ever perform. Even though the audience knows there were seven, thirty-two or 119 shows before the one they’re seeing, there’s no contest this is the best performance yet.
Mackay credits his aha moment of this working model to his college golf coach, who said: “Every drive you hit… every approach shot you make… every putt you stroke… you say to yourself, ‘This is the last drive I will ever hit. This is the last approach shot I will every make. This is the last putt I will ever stroke. Therefore, it better be my best.’ ”
Sales is repetitive. That’s all there is to it. Your only option is to be completely present in every single conversation you have about your business. You must be passionate and treat every opportunity as if it is your last. Every potential client must be treated as a precious resource. It’s easier said than done. Time and again when we interview the best-of-the-best we observe they aren’t necessarily doing extraordinary things, but rather bring extraordinary effort to the monotonous everyday task that lead to extraordinary results.
What are the areas of your business where you are making a commitment to be present every time?
–Jay Papasan
p.s. As a thank you to Keller Williams Realty’s continued support, Harvey is giving us access to his book “Harvey Mackay The Network Builder.” I encourage you all to go check it out. Here’s the link: http://www.harveymackay.com/bonus/
Thursday, November 17, 2011
OutFront Magazine by Keller Williams Realty
OutFront Magazine
OutFront is Keller Williams Realty's semi-monthly publication, focused on the Keller Williams advantage, success strategies among our associates throughout North America, and leading-edge strategies to help you to seize the shift in the real estate market to grow your market share. Each issue is distributed to all of our associates in the United States and Canada.
Browse the current issue of OutFront magazine!
Back Issues:
Quarter 3 2011
Quarter 2 2011
Quarter 1 2011
Nov-Dec 2010
Sep-Oct 2010
July-Aug 2010
May-June 2010
Mar-Apr 2010
Jan-Feb 2010
Nov-Dec 2009
Sep-Oct 2009
Jul-Aug 2009
May-Jun 2009
Mar-Apr 2009
Jan-Feb 2009
OutFront is Keller Williams Realty's semi-monthly publication, focused on the Keller Williams advantage, success strategies among our associates throughout North America, and leading-edge strategies to help you to seize the shift in the real estate market to grow your market share. Each issue is distributed to all of our associates in the United States and Canada.
Browse the current issue of OutFront magazine!
Back Issues:
Quarter 3 2011
Quarter 2 2011
Quarter 1 2011
Nov-Dec 2010
Sep-Oct 2010
July-Aug 2010
May-June 2010
Mar-Apr 2010
Jan-Feb 2010
Nov-Dec 2009
Sep-Oct 2009
Jul-Aug 2009
May-Jun 2009
Mar-Apr 2009
Jan-Feb 2009
Tuesday, November 15, 2011
KW Launches Green Week
Provided By KW Blog
Do you have a Green Thumb? Is your market center working toward a completely paperless office? Maybe you’re an expert on green living for your community and your clients.
Monday, Nov. 14 through Friday Nov. 18, Keller Williams Realty is excited to announce that we’ll be celebrating our company’s growing environmental initiatives and the release of KW’s latest guidebook Green Your Home during “Green Week!”
Keller Williams Associates: we want you to help us celebrate our company’s focus on building a healthy, money-smart, and sustainable life worth living!
Plus – we’ll be sharing an exclusive excerpt from the Green Your Home guidebook and posting awesome articles focused on generating leads by establishing yourself as a green expert in your local market. If you’re not 100 percent convinced of the green movement, that’s okay! This is merely an opportunity for you to educate yourself so when you have a client with specific green needs, you can be their source of information!
About Green Week: Since our founding, it has been our company’s stated mission to build careers worth having, businesses worth owning and lives worth living. We realize now, more than ever, that a life worth living is one that is healthy, money-smart, and sustainable. And over the past three years we have been actively working to create a platform for our associates to leverage the green movement in their businesses.
We look forward to celebrating Green Week with you!
To learn more about Green Week visit blog.kw.com!
Do you have a Green Thumb? Is your market center working toward a completely paperless office? Maybe you’re an expert on green living for your community and your clients.
Monday, Nov. 14 through Friday Nov. 18, Keller Williams Realty is excited to announce that we’ll be celebrating our company’s growing environmental initiatives and the release of KW’s latest guidebook Green Your Home during “Green Week!”
Keller Williams Associates: we want you to help us celebrate our company’s focus on building a healthy, money-smart, and sustainable life worth living!
Plus – we’ll be sharing an exclusive excerpt from the Green Your Home guidebook and posting awesome articles focused on generating leads by establishing yourself as a green expert in your local market. If you’re not 100 percent convinced of the green movement, that’s okay! This is merely an opportunity for you to educate yourself so when you have a client with specific green needs, you can be their source of information!
About Green Week: Since our founding, it has been our company’s stated mission to build careers worth having, businesses worth owning and lives worth living. We realize now, more than ever, that a life worth living is one that is healthy, money-smart, and sustainable. And over the past three years we have been actively working to create a platform for our associates to leverage the green movement in their businesses.
We look forward to celebrating Green Week with you!
To learn more about Green Week visit blog.kw.com!
Thursday, November 10, 2011
Gary Keller on mapping out the year and making a plan
Provided By KW Blog
For most entrepreneurs and independent business owners, fourth quarter is a time of reflection on the past year’s successes and an opportunity to put together a solid business plan for the next 12 months.
As you might imagine, Gary Keller, co-founder and chairman, Keller Williams Realty, Inc. goes through a rigorous planning process. Below is an email exchange between him and Todd Butzer, regional director, North Central on creating the “Master Plan.”
-----Original Message-----From: Todd ButzerTo: Gary KellerSubject: planning questionGary –
I am pretty sure you go through a specific planning ritual this time of year.
Wonder if you would mind sharing any part of it?
T
Todd Butzer
Regional Director
North Central Region
-----Original Message-----From: Gary KellerTo: Todd ButzerSubject: RE: planning questionhey !
i work from a simple concept:
1. i start with the end in mind: i envision my life at the end of it and ask myself what i want to have done. i then mock up a simple 5 year look (in
kind of a grid form with the years to the left and along the top the categories – like health, giving, john, mary, mom, business, writing,etc…) at what i should be doing to be on track and then i look at the first year.
that creates my goals for the year.
2. i then take each goal and ask one question: what is the one thing i can do that by doing it everything else that could also be done to accomplish this would either be easier or unnecessary?
3. last, i go to my calendar with that answer for each goal and i time block out the year to make sure those things get done. first, i time block all my time off – vacations, days off, short days, etc., so that i make sure they don’t get left out. if i intend to work hard then i’ll need this time to renew. next is, my meetings with the people who report to me. next, i make sure i have my time to plan out every week. (i’ve done this so long on a sunday night that i don’t even block it anymore), usually an hour a week on a sunday. then it’s all about work. so, for example, if lead generation is your number one business action then you time block it for 5-6 days a week for 3 -4 hours a day before noon. for me it’s writing so my goal is to just make sure that gets done – then i’m open to the possibilities of everything else.
my motto is “until my number one priority on my list is done each day all else
is a distraction”! ALL ELSE! as such, i guard my time when i’m on a priority task fiercely and without apologies. it’s my life and i answer to no one as to my time. doesn’t always make me highly visible or highly social, but that isn’t the goal when i’m doing what i want my life to be about.
hope this helps. feel free to share.
onward……
garykeller
For most entrepreneurs and independent business owners, fourth quarter is a time of reflection on the past year’s successes and an opportunity to put together a solid business plan for the next 12 months.
As you might imagine, Gary Keller, co-founder and chairman, Keller Williams Realty, Inc. goes through a rigorous planning process. Below is an email exchange between him and Todd Butzer, regional director, North Central on creating the “Master Plan.”
-----Original Message-----From: Todd ButzerTo: Gary KellerSubject: planning questionGary –
I am pretty sure you go through a specific planning ritual this time of year.
Wonder if you would mind sharing any part of it?
T
Todd Butzer
Regional Director
North Central Region
-----Original Message-----From: Gary KellerTo: Todd ButzerSubject: RE: planning questionhey !
i work from a simple concept:
1. i start with the end in mind: i envision my life at the end of it and ask myself what i want to have done. i then mock up a simple 5 year look (in
kind of a grid form with the years to the left and along the top the categories – like health, giving, john, mary, mom, business, writing,etc…) at what i should be doing to be on track and then i look at the first year.
that creates my goals for the year.
2. i then take each goal and ask one question: what is the one thing i can do that by doing it everything else that could also be done to accomplish this would either be easier or unnecessary?
3. last, i go to my calendar with that answer for each goal and i time block out the year to make sure those things get done. first, i time block all my time off – vacations, days off, short days, etc., so that i make sure they don’t get left out. if i intend to work hard then i’ll need this time to renew. next is, my meetings with the people who report to me. next, i make sure i have my time to plan out every week. (i’ve done this so long on a sunday night that i don’t even block it anymore), usually an hour a week on a sunday. then it’s all about work. so, for example, if lead generation is your number one business action then you time block it for 5-6 days a week for 3 -4 hours a day before noon. for me it’s writing so my goal is to just make sure that gets done – then i’m open to the possibilities of everything else.
my motto is “until my number one priority on my list is done each day all else
is a distraction”! ALL ELSE! as such, i guard my time when i’m on a priority task fiercely and without apologies. it’s my life and i answer to no one as to my time. doesn’t always make me highly visible or highly social, but that isn’t the goal when i’m doing what i want my life to be about.
hope this helps. feel free to share.
onward……
garykeller
Tuesday, November 8, 2011
Sharing Our Table
Dear Rockwall Community,
We are now accepting non perishable food donations for families in need in.
Drop off box is located inside the entrance of Keller Williams Realty. For more information please contact us at 972.772.7000 or email us at frontdesk552@kw.com.
"Thanksgiving, after all, is a word of action."
-W.J. Cameron
We are now accepting non perishable food donations for families in need in.
Drop off box is located inside the entrance of Keller Williams Realty. For more information please contact us at 972.772.7000 or email us at frontdesk552@kw.com.
"Thanksgiving, after all, is a word of action."
-W.J. Cameron
Wednesday, November 2, 2011
Retail vs. The Clearance Rack
Provided By KW Blog
WHEN SELLERS AREN’T INCLINED TO PRICE THEIR HOMES COMPETITIVELY, HERE’S A SHOPPING ANALOGY TO DRIVE THE POINT HOME.
It’s one thing for your clients and prospects to read in the paper or hear on the news that home prices have declined. It’s quite another when the reality hits home, and you’re at the kitchen table helping a client come to terms with the fact that the price that they want or “need” isn’t in line with current market values.
Pricing conversations can be a critical moment of truth in any market, but when local market values have trended downward, pricing a home to sell – and explaining this dynamic to sellers – takes on a new dimension.
I was recently talking to Shaun Rawls, concerning the challenge of resetting seller’s expectations about the listing price and market value of their home. He offered some great perspectives and a solid script.
Gary: How are you counseling your agents to initiate pricing conversations with sellers?
Shaun: It’s a conversation that should be backed into, and is the case of so much of what we do, success hinges on asking good questions. Even though the media has given a lot of attention to the “down real estate market,” we need to keep in mind that most people have come to take for granted that home values would remain on a constantly upward trajectory. The last time they bought or sold a home, they essentially hit the pause button on market dynamics. That’s why, before we start talking price, it’s important to ask, “Tell me about when you bought this house.” That opens the conversation to a comparison of how the current market is different from the market that they remember.
Gary: So I tell you, as the seller, that I bought the house back in 2002 for $317,000. It was listed at $319,000 and needed work. I took out a line of credit for $50,000, updated the kitchen, and bought all new appliances. It’s just been repainted, the landscaping is beautiful, and you’re telling me, based on your comparative market analysis that you recommend I list it for $324,000!
Shaun: Here’s a script that our agents are finding helpful:
Let’s pretend it’s my birthday and someone gives me a $75 gift card to Nordstrom. One day, I run into the Nordstrom men’s department where I find a table of new shirts, and find one that’s my size in a color that I like … and the price is $75. Jackpot! I pick up the shirt and head for the register. Right before I get there, I notice a big rack of clothes with a sign that says, “CLEARANCE.” So, I take a quick detour, and as I am looking at the clothes in my size, I see a shirt that I like even more that was originally priced at $200 and is now marked down to $75! I really have a dilemma on my hands now.
Do I buy the $200 shirt for $75, or do I buy the $75 shirt for $75?
Well, buyers in this market have a similar choice to make when they are looking for homes. Except they have the option of buying the $1 million home for $750,000 or they can purchase the $600,000 home for $750,000.
All too often, new sellers put a high price on their home with the expectation of negotiating if it doesn’t sell at that price, but the point is this: in order to sell, a new listing must hit the market on the clearance rack on Day 1.”
Gary: So what if I tell you that this doesn’t really apply to me, because I don’t really have to sell.
Shaun:
While you may think that’s an advantage, it’s actually a disadvantage in this market. What we are seeing is that sellers who don’t have to sell, don’t, because they’re competing with sellers who absolutely, positively have to sell and will do whatever it takes to do so. Selling a home in this market is a price war and a beauty contest.”
Gary: Shaun, thanks so much for sharing this with us! If anyone has a script they’d like to share, leave a comment below.
Onward...
WHEN SELLERS AREN’T INCLINED TO PRICE THEIR HOMES COMPETITIVELY, HERE’S A SHOPPING ANALOGY TO DRIVE THE POINT HOME.
It’s one thing for your clients and prospects to read in the paper or hear on the news that home prices have declined. It’s quite another when the reality hits home, and you’re at the kitchen table helping a client come to terms with the fact that the price that they want or “need” isn’t in line with current market values.
Pricing conversations can be a critical moment of truth in any market, but when local market values have trended downward, pricing a home to sell – and explaining this dynamic to sellers – takes on a new dimension.
I was recently talking to Shaun Rawls, concerning the challenge of resetting seller’s expectations about the listing price and market value of their home. He offered some great perspectives and a solid script.
Gary: How are you counseling your agents to initiate pricing conversations with sellers?
Shaun: It’s a conversation that should be backed into, and is the case of so much of what we do, success hinges on asking good questions. Even though the media has given a lot of attention to the “down real estate market,” we need to keep in mind that most people have come to take for granted that home values would remain on a constantly upward trajectory. The last time they bought or sold a home, they essentially hit the pause button on market dynamics. That’s why, before we start talking price, it’s important to ask, “Tell me about when you bought this house.” That opens the conversation to a comparison of how the current market is different from the market that they remember.
Gary: So I tell you, as the seller, that I bought the house back in 2002 for $317,000. It was listed at $319,000 and needed work. I took out a line of credit for $50,000, updated the kitchen, and bought all new appliances. It’s just been repainted, the landscaping is beautiful, and you’re telling me, based on your comparative market analysis that you recommend I list it for $324,000!
Shaun: Here’s a script that our agents are finding helpful:
Let’s pretend it’s my birthday and someone gives me a $75 gift card to Nordstrom. One day, I run into the Nordstrom men’s department where I find a table of new shirts, and find one that’s my size in a color that I like … and the price is $75. Jackpot! I pick up the shirt and head for the register. Right before I get there, I notice a big rack of clothes with a sign that says, “CLEARANCE.” So, I take a quick detour, and as I am looking at the clothes in my size, I see a shirt that I like even more that was originally priced at $200 and is now marked down to $75! I really have a dilemma on my hands now.
Do I buy the $200 shirt for $75, or do I buy the $75 shirt for $75?
Well, buyers in this market have a similar choice to make when they are looking for homes. Except they have the option of buying the $1 million home for $750,000 or they can purchase the $600,000 home for $750,000.
All too often, new sellers put a high price on their home with the expectation of negotiating if it doesn’t sell at that price, but the point is this: in order to sell, a new listing must hit the market on the clearance rack on Day 1.”
Gary: So what if I tell you that this doesn’t really apply to me, because I don’t really have to sell.
Shaun:
While you may think that’s an advantage, it’s actually a disadvantage in this market. What we are seeing is that sellers who don’t have to sell, don’t, because they’re competing with sellers who absolutely, positively have to sell and will do whatever it takes to do so. Selling a home in this market is a price war and a beauty contest.”
Gary: Shaun, thanks so much for sharing this with us! If anyone has a script they’d like to share, leave a comment below.
Onward...
Monday, October 31, 2011
Thursday, October 13, 2011
Will Norton: A Life Worth Remembering and Celebrating
The KW Culture is strong. It’s God, Family, then Business. You feel it in the way associates treat each other and the way they speak to each other. It’s lending a hand and lifting people up when times are tough or there is a great need.
Nowhere was that philosophy more apparent than during KW Cares Party with a Purpose held during Mega Camp 2011 where associates united to raise more than $130,000 to benefit the Will Norton Memorial Fund. It was an incredible night filled with recognition of loss, and a celebration of life – and everyone brought incredible energy and a giving spirit to the event!
Norton was an 18 year old with blue eyes and a big smile, the kind of guy who never met a stranger. He was creative, courageous, and lively. With a true servant’s heart, he gave generously to those less fortunate, volunteering his time to local organizations. He loved his family and friends, and was deeply loved in return.
The Joplin tornado hit Will and his father in their car on the way home from his graduation. When the ambulance reached his father at the car, Will was unfortunately missing. An international search team—led by Sarah, his sister and best friend—looked for him for an agonizing five days until his body was found.
To honor his memory and those of the other 161 lives that were lost, Keller Williams is committed to raising money to create the Joplin memorial park. The highlight of the park will be the Will Norton Miracle Field, where handicapped children can come together to play our national pastime, baseball.
To read more on Will and his amazing life please visit www.kwcares.org.
Please take a minute to donate to the Will Norton Memorial Fund and celebrate this young man’s life.
Nowhere was that philosophy more apparent than during KW Cares Party with a Purpose held during Mega Camp 2011 where associates united to raise more than $130,000 to benefit the Will Norton Memorial Fund. It was an incredible night filled with recognition of loss, and a celebration of life – and everyone brought incredible energy and a giving spirit to the event!
Norton was an 18 year old with blue eyes and a big smile, the kind of guy who never met a stranger. He was creative, courageous, and lively. With a true servant’s heart, he gave generously to those less fortunate, volunteering his time to local organizations. He loved his family and friends, and was deeply loved in return.
The Joplin tornado hit Will and his father in their car on the way home from his graduation. When the ambulance reached his father at the car, Will was unfortunately missing. An international search team—led by Sarah, his sister and best friend—looked for him for an agonizing five days until his body was found.
To honor his memory and those of the other 161 lives that were lost, Keller Williams is committed to raising money to create the Joplin memorial park. The highlight of the park will be the Will Norton Miracle Field, where handicapped children can come together to play our national pastime, baseball.
To read more on Will and his amazing life please visit www.kwcares.org.
Please take a minute to donate to the Will Norton Memorial Fund and celebrate this young man’s life.
Tuesday, October 11, 2011
How HOT is your production?
Provided By KW Blog
So many things come to mind when I think of the word.
Combustion, fire, flames, spark, imagination, light bulb, innovation. I don’t see a camp fire, I see a bon fire! I bet the fire you see is different from the one I am imagining, and yet they are both hot! I’m not looking at the actual size of the light bulb, but the fact that there is light in the dark that existed before that ray brightened the room.
When I think of the word Ignite and how it plays into a real estate agents’ career, I see something so similar! Success, listings, contracts, money, leads, growth, achievement are all words that come to mind. And again, I am not seeing a new agent just starting out or launching their career, I am seeing agents, and their rise to the level of success the desire. And here’s the coolest part. The level could be 20-40 deals, or 100-200, or maybe it’s taking the leap to achieve a first transaction. I bet the level of success I am thinking is different from yours, yet they both are successes.
We all know that the fundamentals of real estate still apply. We are in the business to generate leads. Without lead generation, our careers may shrink and force us to believe that we need to go find a “real” job. What we have to remember is that real estate sales IS a real job. Too often we stand around the water cooler and buy into the gossip about how open houses do not work, and cold calling is terrible. Or that no one wants to hear from us anyways, so “why bother calling.”
After attending some of the best education and training events, like Mega Camp and Family Reunion, I can tell you with confidence that the people who are knocking it out of the ballpark understand that real estate is a business and a full-time job – regardless of market conditions.
Here’s what I know. I’ve been a Team Leader with Keller Williams Realty for 10 years and when our education arm, Keller Williams University rolls out a new course, I immediately take notice! And so when they announced Ignite at Mega Camp, you better believe I jumped on board to host a class for our agents!
The class is structured to steer you on the right path in your career and your life. You create new habits that lead to success and we hand you a road map that is easy to follow.
The other part I love: we’re all learning and working through our challenges together, as we work toward mastery.
So many things come to mind when I think of the word.
Combustion, fire, flames, spark, imagination, light bulb, innovation. I don’t see a camp fire, I see a bon fire! I bet the fire you see is different from the one I am imagining, and yet they are both hot! I’m not looking at the actual size of the light bulb, but the fact that there is light in the dark that existed before that ray brightened the room.
When I think of the word Ignite and how it plays into a real estate agents’ career, I see something so similar! Success, listings, contracts, money, leads, growth, achievement are all words that come to mind. And again, I am not seeing a new agent just starting out or launching their career, I am seeing agents, and their rise to the level of success the desire. And here’s the coolest part. The level could be 20-40 deals, or 100-200, or maybe it’s taking the leap to achieve a first transaction. I bet the level of success I am thinking is different from yours, yet they both are successes.
We all know that the fundamentals of real estate still apply. We are in the business to generate leads. Without lead generation, our careers may shrink and force us to believe that we need to go find a “real” job. What we have to remember is that real estate sales IS a real job. Too often we stand around the water cooler and buy into the gossip about how open houses do not work, and cold calling is terrible. Or that no one wants to hear from us anyways, so “why bother calling.”
After attending some of the best education and training events, like Mega Camp and Family Reunion, I can tell you with confidence that the people who are knocking it out of the ballpark understand that real estate is a business and a full-time job – regardless of market conditions.
Here’s what I know. I’ve been a Team Leader with Keller Williams Realty for 10 years and when our education arm, Keller Williams University rolls out a new course, I immediately take notice! And so when they announced Ignite at Mega Camp, you better believe I jumped on board to host a class for our agents!
The class is structured to steer you on the right path in your career and your life. You create new habits that lead to success and we hand you a road map that is easy to follow.
The other part I love: we’re all learning and working through our challenges together, as we work toward mastery.
Thursday, October 6, 2011
Ken DeLeon fears living a mediocre life
Provided By KW Blog
The music started, the lights started flashing and two dynamic individuals came rushing on the stage… Not walking, but dancing! Yes dancing… Now these weren’t the cheerleaders from the morning session, and they were not some of our wonderful KW family demonstrating the WI4C2TS… It was Ken DeLeon and Dianna Kokoszka! Yes, Ken got our awesome Dianna dancing on stage in front of our Keller Williams leaders from across out company. And if you were wondering, they BOTH had some great moves!
I am not sure if Ken ever stopped dancing through his amazing story about his way to the top.
He lives an amazing life… He does not have a fear of dying; he has a fear of living a mediocre life. So he lives every day in a way that can uplift others that are around him. By smiling, waiving, dancing, smiling – he thrives on the emotions he brings out in others.
If you haven’t yet had a chance to hear his incredible story, I will do my best to recap quickly here in this post: Ken lost his sister, and now carries her on his journey in life. He has survived an ongoing battle with cancer and a devastating car accident. Despite these set-backs Ken pushes on. He carries those life experiences as catalysts for success and as a result he has poised himself to emerge at the nations #1 producing agent across the board. He hopes to achieve over $275,000,000 in closings.
Ken joined Keller Williams Realty from another national brand in 2005. When he left that company, he had just closed $26 million. During Ken’s first year with Keller Williams Realty he closed $55 million – a 52% increase in his business. Every year for him in real estate has been his best year in the business, and he is not close to stopping.
Ken is a dear friend of mine and someone I admire. We enjoy looking out for one another, and helping each other out. Extending a hand whenever we feel the other may need it.
One day back in 2006 Ken and I were talking about where he stood against KW’s top agents, and what it would take to be No. 1. I pulled the numbers, and we saw he ranked No. 5. What a wonderful moment. $55,000,000 in closed transactions, doing 32 units, and No. 5!
Yest what we kept on looking at was the 32 units.
I pointed out that the No. 4 agent in Keller Williams had done around 270 units to achieve an amount above $55 million. I said to him “If I stripped away the $55 million and dropped him in an area where prices were at $100,000 and kept his 32 units, would he still be happy with his success where he stood right now?”
We both had a moment of clarity, and he himself made the decision to go from entrepreneurial to purposeful in his career. As Gary Keller wrote in The Millionaire Real Estate Agent, “From ‘E’ to ‘P.’”
As we fast forward to today… And $275,000,000 later… His current successes are just more stepping stones on Ken’s amazing journey in life.
It was truly a treat to have Ken with us today at our Mega Agent Camp
The music started, the lights started flashing and two dynamic individuals came rushing on the stage… Not walking, but dancing! Yes dancing… Now these weren’t the cheerleaders from the morning session, and they were not some of our wonderful KW family demonstrating the WI4C2TS… It was Ken DeLeon and Dianna Kokoszka! Yes, Ken got our awesome Dianna dancing on stage in front of our Keller Williams leaders from across out company. And if you were wondering, they BOTH had some great moves!
I am not sure if Ken ever stopped dancing through his amazing story about his way to the top.
He lives an amazing life… He does not have a fear of dying; he has a fear of living a mediocre life. So he lives every day in a way that can uplift others that are around him. By smiling, waiving, dancing, smiling – he thrives on the emotions he brings out in others.
If you haven’t yet had a chance to hear his incredible story, I will do my best to recap quickly here in this post: Ken lost his sister, and now carries her on his journey in life. He has survived an ongoing battle with cancer and a devastating car accident. Despite these set-backs Ken pushes on. He carries those life experiences as catalysts for success and as a result he has poised himself to emerge at the nations #1 producing agent across the board. He hopes to achieve over $275,000,000 in closings.
Ken joined Keller Williams Realty from another national brand in 2005. When he left that company, he had just closed $26 million. During Ken’s first year with Keller Williams Realty he closed $55 million – a 52% increase in his business. Every year for him in real estate has been his best year in the business, and he is not close to stopping.
Ken is a dear friend of mine and someone I admire. We enjoy looking out for one another, and helping each other out. Extending a hand whenever we feel the other may need it.
One day back in 2006 Ken and I were talking about where he stood against KW’s top agents, and what it would take to be No. 1. I pulled the numbers, and we saw he ranked No. 5. What a wonderful moment. $55,000,000 in closed transactions, doing 32 units, and No. 5!
Yest what we kept on looking at was the 32 units.
I pointed out that the No. 4 agent in Keller Williams had done around 270 units to achieve an amount above $55 million. I said to him “If I stripped away the $55 million and dropped him in an area where prices were at $100,000 and kept his 32 units, would he still be happy with his success where he stood right now?”
We both had a moment of clarity, and he himself made the decision to go from entrepreneurial to purposeful in his career. As Gary Keller wrote in The Millionaire Real Estate Agent, “From ‘E’ to ‘P.’”
As we fast forward to today… And $275,000,000 later… His current successes are just more stepping stones on Ken’s amazing journey in life.
It was truly a treat to have Ken with us today at our Mega Agent Camp
Thursday, September 29, 2011
Tuesday, September 27, 2011
Standout through your strengths
Provided By KW Blog
“Which do you think will help you be most successful? Strengths or Mistakes?” asked best-selling author and Mega Leadership Keynote Speaker, Marcus Buckingham.
With everyone in the audience holding a copy of his new book Standout, Buckingham explained that we spend more time fixing ours and others weaknesses than we do building strengths. Which is exactly why he wrote Standout, and created an assessment, similar to Strengths Finder, to help leaders find the personal edge that will help them win at work.
“The series of questions and the results that follow will help you identify where you’ll have an unfair advantage. The focus this time is on performance. We’re helping you ask and answer the question ‘How Do I Win?’”
Buckingham then described the nine leadership categories that people typically fall into, noting that, “you probably all have a lot of these, yet there are two that characterize your leadership style more strongly than the others.”
1. Adviser: This person asks “What is the best thing to do?” They are energized by other people’s problems and often feel excited and empowered by having an answer.
2. Connector: This person asks “Who/What can I connect?” They see the best in people and find others to connect them with to make everyone better.
3. Creator: This person asks “What do I understand?” Buckingham joked, “these people are in the audience thinking about how this book was written, what research they provided and are already noodling over how much their going to noodle over it!”
4. Equalizer: This person asks “What is the right thing to do?” These individuals want restitution, process and predictability. People like them because they are reliable and the relationship is predictable.
5. Influencer: “How can I move you to act?” This individual’s world is made up of momentum and in persuading someone to do something.
6. Pioneer: “What’s New?” These people think the world is a friendly place with opportunity, are very entrepreneurial and embrace ambiguity.
7. Provider: These people asks “Are you OK?” Emotionally they want to know where you are at.
8. Stimulator: These people ask “How Do I Raise the Energy?”
9. Teacher: These individuals ask “What can I/she/he learn?” They believe no one is ever completely developed and can always learn more.
“You may surprised at your results. This isn’t necessarily how you see yourself – this is how others see you,” Buckingham noted. And if you’re wondering whether there is a perfect profile? For salespeople an ideal profile is Influencer, Connector, Equalizer and Teacher.
“If there’s anything I want you to get out of this today is that if you know and play to your strengths maybe tomorrow will be a slightly stronger day. And then you’ll be able to make everyday after a better one than the day before.”
“Which do you think will help you be most successful? Strengths or Mistakes?” asked best-selling author and Mega Leadership Keynote Speaker, Marcus Buckingham.
With everyone in the audience holding a copy of his new book Standout, Buckingham explained that we spend more time fixing ours and others weaknesses than we do building strengths. Which is exactly why he wrote Standout, and created an assessment, similar to Strengths Finder, to help leaders find the personal edge that will help them win at work.
“The series of questions and the results that follow will help you identify where you’ll have an unfair advantage. The focus this time is on performance. We’re helping you ask and answer the question ‘How Do I Win?’”
Buckingham then described the nine leadership categories that people typically fall into, noting that, “you probably all have a lot of these, yet there are two that characterize your leadership style more strongly than the others.”
1. Adviser: This person asks “What is the best thing to do?” They are energized by other people’s problems and often feel excited and empowered by having an answer.
2. Connector: This person asks “Who/What can I connect?” They see the best in people and find others to connect them with to make everyone better.
3. Creator: This person asks “What do I understand?” Buckingham joked, “these people are in the audience thinking about how this book was written, what research they provided and are already noodling over how much their going to noodle over it!”
4. Equalizer: This person asks “What is the right thing to do?” These individuals want restitution, process and predictability. People like them because they are reliable and the relationship is predictable.
5. Influencer: “How can I move you to act?” This individual’s world is made up of momentum and in persuading someone to do something.
6. Pioneer: “What’s New?” These people think the world is a friendly place with opportunity, are very entrepreneurial and embrace ambiguity.
7. Provider: These people asks “Are you OK?” Emotionally they want to know where you are at.
8. Stimulator: These people ask “How Do I Raise the Energy?”
9. Teacher: These individuals ask “What can I/she/he learn?” They believe no one is ever completely developed and can always learn more.
“You may surprised at your results. This isn’t necessarily how you see yourself – this is how others see you,” Buckingham noted. And if you’re wondering whether there is a perfect profile? For salespeople an ideal profile is Influencer, Connector, Equalizer and Teacher.
“If there’s anything I want you to get out of this today is that if you know and play to your strengths maybe tomorrow will be a slightly stronger day. And then you’ll be able to make everyday after a better one than the day before.”
Wednesday, September 21, 2011
KW is Foodspotting Across Austin!
Provided By KW Blog
Coming to Austin for Mega Camp, another event or just to visit KW…and just not sure where or what to eat? Well, we are here to help! Austin is full of amazing restaurants and there are so many choices. To make it a little easier on our guests, we created a Food Guide on Foodspotting.
So, first things first, what is Foodspotting? Foodspotting is a unique local guide where you can find and visually see what people have “Spotted” at restaurants–to see what looks good to you or discover something new. Maybe you would never try the Pasta with Clams, but it looks so good that you can’t pass it up (that’s me)! It is a very fun way to visually see what looks tasty, instead of reading through reviews. Basically it is social media heaven for foodies!
There are two ways to participate on Foodspotting: as a foodseeker or as a foodspotter, or in my case, as both.
As a foodseeker, you can search by food type, neighborhood, city, or you can look up specific restaurants (see below).
Another fun option is to bookmark foods that look good to you that you might want to check out later (see left). You can do this by researching restaurants or by seeing what people you follow have spotted.
As a foodspotter, you take a photo of your food and share it by uploading your photo, you can become a dish expert by spotting the same types of foods (for example, I am a seafood and soup expert on Foodspotting), or by following people or guides that you find interesting.
Uploading food I have "Spotted"
And after you have completed uploading the photo and review (see left), it will show up in the streams of people following you on Foodspotting and connected to that specific restaurant. You also have the option to feed the review and photo through to Twitter and Facebook if you choose.
As I mentioned earlier we just created “Keller Williams Realty’s Guide to Austin” (see image below) to help you find and follow food we love. Guides work this way: you follow the guide and try to “spot” the dishes listed in the guide. So, if you follow our guide, go to the guide on your smart phone or online and click “Spot” for that dish, for example, the beef brisket at Franklin Barbecue or one of Mo’s favorite dishes, the Bacon Wrapped Meatloaf at Bess, you would then upload the photo and it would then show up that you uploaded to our guide. Make sure the name of the dish is consistent so you get credit!
The more food you spot on our guide, you will get the opportunity to get the “KW Foodspotting Badge” (the KW logo on the guide) for Austin and the chance to win a copy of Green Your Home!
So, how do you sign up? All you have to do is download the free application to your smart phone or sign up on http://www.foodspotting.com and create an account. Currently the application is available for Windows Phones, iPhone and Android. Click here to download the app.
To follow our guide go here: Keller Williams Realty’s Guide to Austin. Make sure to follow the guide and you are set!
Don’t wait until Mega Camp or until you are in Austin to start Foodspotting! Get started tonight out at dinner, while grabbing a Latte at your favorite coffee shop or maybe even get creative and put together a guide for your neighborhood and promote it to your clients. Most of all, have fun and happy Foodspotting!
Coming to Austin for Mega Camp, another event or just to visit KW…and just not sure where or what to eat? Well, we are here to help! Austin is full of amazing restaurants and there are so many choices. To make it a little easier on our guests, we created a Food Guide on Foodspotting.
So, first things first, what is Foodspotting? Foodspotting is a unique local guide where you can find and visually see what people have “Spotted” at restaurants–to see what looks good to you or discover something new. Maybe you would never try the Pasta with Clams, but it looks so good that you can’t pass it up (that’s me)! It is a very fun way to visually see what looks tasty, instead of reading through reviews. Basically it is social media heaven for foodies!
There are two ways to participate on Foodspotting: as a foodseeker or as a foodspotter, or in my case, as both.
As a foodseeker, you can search by food type, neighborhood, city, or you can look up specific restaurants (see below).
Another fun option is to bookmark foods that look good to you that you might want to check out later (see left). You can do this by researching restaurants or by seeing what people you follow have spotted.
As a foodspotter, you take a photo of your food and share it by uploading your photo, you can become a dish expert by spotting the same types of foods (for example, I am a seafood and soup expert on Foodspotting), or by following people or guides that you find interesting.
Uploading food I have "Spotted"
And after you have completed uploading the photo and review (see left), it will show up in the streams of people following you on Foodspotting and connected to that specific restaurant. You also have the option to feed the review and photo through to Twitter and Facebook if you choose.
As I mentioned earlier we just created “Keller Williams Realty’s Guide to Austin” (see image below) to help you find and follow food we love. Guides work this way: you follow the guide and try to “spot” the dishes listed in the guide. So, if you follow our guide, go to the guide on your smart phone or online and click “Spot” for that dish, for example, the beef brisket at Franklin Barbecue or one of Mo’s favorite dishes, the Bacon Wrapped Meatloaf at Bess, you would then upload the photo and it would then show up that you uploaded to our guide. Make sure the name of the dish is consistent so you get credit!
The more food you spot on our guide, you will get the opportunity to get the “KW Foodspotting Badge” (the KW logo on the guide) for Austin and the chance to win a copy of Green Your Home!
So, how do you sign up? All you have to do is download the free application to your smart phone or sign up on http://www.foodspotting.com and create an account. Currently the application is available for Windows Phones, iPhone and Android. Click here to download the app.
To follow our guide go here: Keller Williams Realty’s Guide to Austin. Make sure to follow the guide and you are set!
Don’t wait until Mega Camp or until you are in Austin to start Foodspotting! Get started tonight out at dinner, while grabbing a Latte at your favorite coffee shop or maybe even get creative and put together a guide for your neighborhood and promote it to your clients. Most of all, have fun and happy Foodspotting!
Monday, September 19, 2011
Who’s Ready for Mega Camp 2011?
Provided By KW Blog
The Keller Williams Realty International Support Center (KWRI) is abuzz with preparations for the real estate industry’s No. 1 event where real estate professionals gather to transform their careers with the latest insights, trends and skills straight from the BEST agents in the industry.
The panelists have been chosen.
The topics confirmed (well, almost!).
The speakers have prepared their speeches.
And Austin, Texas is preparing for its post-Austin City Limits influx of agents from across the United States, Canada and beyond!
There’s a lot to expect and experience at Mega Camp. Stellar panels, power-packed sessions. People, places, parties. New faces and friends. And enough tips and tricks to take your business to the next level!
Not to mention daily coverage via the KW Blog of the hottest, most-talked about moments happening throughout the day. You’ll hear from power house entrepreneur, REALTOR®, author, reigning “Queen of Systems and Scripts” and MAPS President, Dianna Kokoszka. You’ll hear from industry elite and Internet Marketing experts like Ben Kinney (@benkinney), Keller Williams Realty’s Executive Director of Technology Cary Sylvester, and Inman Next’s Chris Smith (@Chris_Smth).
You’ll read our Keller Williams University course-writer’s perspective on panels and presentations and hopefully experience Mega Camp through the eyes of fellow attendees like Chris Alston (@Chris_Alston) and Liz Landry (@Liz_Landry). We’ll also give you the full Mega Camp experience with highlights from Keller Williams Realty’s Chairman of the Board, Gary Keller when he speaks with co-author and Vice President of Publishing and Executive Editor Jay Papasan (@jaypapasan) on the Power of One – a topic that will be the focus of his new, soon-to-be-released book.
On the social media front, our Tweeps will be Tweeting up a storm (#KWMC) giving you minute-by-minute, or better yet, second-by-second updates straight from stage. Thanks to Liz for putting together a great list of people who will be Tweeting directly from the event including @kwri and yours truly @kwrinews!) She also gives you a great rundown on how to use Hootsuite Streams to simplify your Mega Camp following frenzy! Go Liz!
And our Facebook folks will be posting tons of pics and maybe even a few videos of their own. We hope you’ll be a part of the conversation and give us your first-hand experience of the event. (You can also post directly to the MAPS Coaching Facebook Page)
All-in-all this year is going to be incredible. With more than 10,000 registrants, three major sessions (Mega Tech, Mega Agent, Mega Leadership), nearly 100 panelists and speakers, and five days of content that’ll have you thinking and rethinking how your business is run, this really is going to be the BEST MEGA CAMP YET!
Ready, set, GO!
The Keller Williams Realty International Support Center (KWRI) is abuzz with preparations for the real estate industry’s No. 1 event where real estate professionals gather to transform their careers with the latest insights, trends and skills straight from the BEST agents in the industry.
The panelists have been chosen.
The topics confirmed (well, almost!).
The speakers have prepared their speeches.
And Austin, Texas is preparing for its post-Austin City Limits influx of agents from across the United States, Canada and beyond!
There’s a lot to expect and experience at Mega Camp. Stellar panels, power-packed sessions. People, places, parties. New faces and friends. And enough tips and tricks to take your business to the next level!
Not to mention daily coverage via the KW Blog of the hottest, most-talked about moments happening throughout the day. You’ll hear from power house entrepreneur, REALTOR®, author, reigning “Queen of Systems and Scripts” and MAPS President, Dianna Kokoszka. You’ll hear from industry elite and Internet Marketing experts like Ben Kinney (@benkinney), Keller Williams Realty’s Executive Director of Technology Cary Sylvester, and Inman Next’s Chris Smith (@Chris_Smth).
You’ll read our Keller Williams University course-writer’s perspective on panels and presentations and hopefully experience Mega Camp through the eyes of fellow attendees like Chris Alston (@Chris_Alston) and Liz Landry (@Liz_Landry). We’ll also give you the full Mega Camp experience with highlights from Keller Williams Realty’s Chairman of the Board, Gary Keller when he speaks with co-author and Vice President of Publishing and Executive Editor Jay Papasan (@jaypapasan) on the Power of One – a topic that will be the focus of his new, soon-to-be-released book.
On the social media front, our Tweeps will be Tweeting up a storm (#KWMC) giving you minute-by-minute, or better yet, second-by-second updates straight from stage. Thanks to Liz for putting together a great list of people who will be Tweeting directly from the event including @kwri and yours truly @kwrinews!) She also gives you a great rundown on how to use Hootsuite Streams to simplify your Mega Camp following frenzy! Go Liz!
And our Facebook folks will be posting tons of pics and maybe even a few videos of their own. We hope you’ll be a part of the conversation and give us your first-hand experience of the event. (You can also post directly to the MAPS Coaching Facebook Page)
All-in-all this year is going to be incredible. With more than 10,000 registrants, three major sessions (Mega Tech, Mega Agent, Mega Leadership), nearly 100 panelists and speakers, and five days of content that’ll have you thinking and rethinking how your business is run, this really is going to be the BEST MEGA CAMP YET!
Ready, set, GO!
Thursday, September 15, 2011
Willing to Make the Sacrifice
Provided By Realty Times
A Champion is ready and willing to make the sacrifice that is necessary. The challenge for most people climbing the ladder of success to becoming a Champion is knowing when and how much sacrifice is necessary. The key is making the right sacrifice needed for the situation. Too often, Agents expect to give up too much. I was speaking with an Agent the other day who wanted to be one of the top Agents in his marketplace.
Based on his comments, I knew he thought the only path to real estate sales success was being a workaholic. As we spoke further, he began to understand there were other, better avenues of success other than a 70 hour work week; that he could achieve a large, successful sales practice by putting forth the effort of sacrifice plus a little bit more.
I don't believe people need to work 70 hour work weeks to achieve success. It only demonstrates how inefficient one is with the use of their time in activities. It also speaks to a lack of skills that create revenue. Conversely, I do not believe people achieve wealth and success by working a typical 40 hour work week as most workers do. I know that to achieve success and wealth and quality of life, you have to sacrifice by putting in a little more effort than the next guy.
Once you have increased your skill level to the Champion's level, you can go well below a 40 hour work week and still earn a large income. It's the climb up the success mountain that too many people either don't give enough or give too much to. In terms of work hours, if you are in a growth stage of your business, I believe around 50 hours a week is required.
Too many of us stop short of what is needed and required. Because we have allocated fewer resources than required, the results are guaranteed to fall short of expectations. Others sacrifice more than is needed, which is a waste of resources. You can kill a fly with a bomb, but it's really more sacrifice, resources, and power than is necessary. The question is, are you currently making the right amount of sacrifice to be a Champion Agent?
A Champion is ready and willing to make the sacrifice that is necessary. The challenge for most people climbing the ladder of success to becoming a Champion is knowing when and how much sacrifice is necessary. The key is making the right sacrifice needed for the situation. Too often, Agents expect to give up too much. I was speaking with an Agent the other day who wanted to be one of the top Agents in his marketplace.
Based on his comments, I knew he thought the only path to real estate sales success was being a workaholic. As we spoke further, he began to understand there were other, better avenues of success other than a 70 hour work week; that he could achieve a large, successful sales practice by putting forth the effort of sacrifice plus a little bit more.
I don't believe people need to work 70 hour work weeks to achieve success. It only demonstrates how inefficient one is with the use of their time in activities. It also speaks to a lack of skills that create revenue. Conversely, I do not believe people achieve wealth and success by working a typical 40 hour work week as most workers do. I know that to achieve success and wealth and quality of life, you have to sacrifice by putting in a little more effort than the next guy.
Once you have increased your skill level to the Champion's level, you can go well below a 40 hour work week and still earn a large income. It's the climb up the success mountain that too many people either don't give enough or give too much to. In terms of work hours, if you are in a growth stage of your business, I believe around 50 hours a week is required.
Too many of us stop short of what is needed and required. Because we have allocated fewer resources than required, the results are guaranteed to fall short of expectations. Others sacrifice more than is needed, which is a waste of resources. You can kill a fly with a bomb, but it's really more sacrifice, resources, and power than is necessary. The question is, are you currently making the right amount of sacrifice to be a Champion Agent?
Tuesday, September 13, 2011
KW is Foodspotting Across Austin!
Provided By KW Blog
Coming to Austin for Mega Camp, another event or just to visit KW…and just not sure where or what to eat? Well, we are here to help! Austin is full of amazing restaurants and there are so many choices. To make it a little easier on our guests, we created a Food Guide on Foodspotting.
So, first things first, what is Foodspotting? Foodspotting is a unique local guide where you can find and visually see what people have “Spotted” at restaurants–to see what looks good to you or discover something new. Maybe you would never try the Pasta with Clams, but it looks so good that you can’t pass it up (that’s me)! It is a very fun way to visually see what looks tasty, instead of reading through reviews. Basically it is social media heaven for foodies!
There are two ways to participate on Foodspotting: as a foodseeker or as a foodspotter, or in my case, as both.
As a foodseeker, you can search by food type, neighborhood, city, or you can look up specific restaurants.
Another fun option is to bookmark foods that look good to you that you might want to check out later (see left). You can do this by researching restaurants or by seeing what people you follow have spotted.
As a foodspotter, you take a photo of your food and share it by uploading your photo, you can become a dish expert by spotting the same types of foods (for example, I am a seafood and soup expert on Foodspotting), or by following people or guides that you find interesting.
Uploading food I have "Spotted"
And after you have completed uploading the photo and review (see left), it will show up in the streams of people following you on Foodspotting and connected to that specific restaurant. You also have the option to feed the review and photo through to Twitter and Facebook if you choose.
As I mentioned earlier we just created “Keller Williams Realty’s Guide to Austin” (see image below) to help you find and follow food we love. Guides work this way: you follow the guide and try to “spot” the dishes listed in the guide. So, if you follow our guide, go to the guide on your smart phone or online and click “Spot” for that dish, for example, the beef brisket at Franklin Barbecue or one of Mo’s favorite dishes, the Bacon Wrapped Meatloaf at Bess, you would then upload the photo and it would then show up that you uploaded to our guide. Make sure the name of the dish is consistent so you get credit!
The more food you spot on our guide, you will get the opportunity to get the “KW Foodspotting Badge” (the KW logo on the guide) for Austin and the chance to win a copy of Green Your Home!
So, how do you sign up? All you have to do is download the free application to your smart phone or sign up on http://www.foodspotting.com and create an account. Currently the application is available for Windows Phones, iPhone and Android. Click here to download the app.
To follow our guide go here: Keller Williams Realty’s Guide to Austin. Make sure to follow the guide and you are set!
Don’t wait until Mega Camp or until you are in Austin to start Foodspotting! Get started tonight out at dinner, while grabbing a Latte at your favorite coffee shop or maybe even get creative and put together a guide for your neighborhood and promote it to your clients. Most of all, have fun and happy Foodspotting!
Coming to Austin for Mega Camp, another event or just to visit KW…and just not sure where or what to eat? Well, we are here to help! Austin is full of amazing restaurants and there are so many choices. To make it a little easier on our guests, we created a Food Guide on Foodspotting.
So, first things first, what is Foodspotting? Foodspotting is a unique local guide where you can find and visually see what people have “Spotted” at restaurants–to see what looks good to you or discover something new. Maybe you would never try the Pasta with Clams, but it looks so good that you can’t pass it up (that’s me)! It is a very fun way to visually see what looks tasty, instead of reading through reviews. Basically it is social media heaven for foodies!
There are two ways to participate on Foodspotting: as a foodseeker or as a foodspotter, or in my case, as both.
As a foodseeker, you can search by food type, neighborhood, city, or you can look up specific restaurants.
Another fun option is to bookmark foods that look good to you that you might want to check out later (see left). You can do this by researching restaurants or by seeing what people you follow have spotted.
As a foodspotter, you take a photo of your food and share it by uploading your photo, you can become a dish expert by spotting the same types of foods (for example, I am a seafood and soup expert on Foodspotting), or by following people or guides that you find interesting.
Uploading food I have "Spotted"
And after you have completed uploading the photo and review (see left), it will show up in the streams of people following you on Foodspotting and connected to that specific restaurant. You also have the option to feed the review and photo through to Twitter and Facebook if you choose.
As I mentioned earlier we just created “Keller Williams Realty’s Guide to Austin” (see image below) to help you find and follow food we love. Guides work this way: you follow the guide and try to “spot” the dishes listed in the guide. So, if you follow our guide, go to the guide on your smart phone or online and click “Spot” for that dish, for example, the beef brisket at Franklin Barbecue or one of Mo’s favorite dishes, the Bacon Wrapped Meatloaf at Bess, you would then upload the photo and it would then show up that you uploaded to our guide. Make sure the name of the dish is consistent so you get credit!
The more food you spot on our guide, you will get the opportunity to get the “KW Foodspotting Badge” (the KW logo on the guide) for Austin and the chance to win a copy of Green Your Home!
So, how do you sign up? All you have to do is download the free application to your smart phone or sign up on http://www.foodspotting.com and create an account. Currently the application is available for Windows Phones, iPhone and Android. Click here to download the app.
To follow our guide go here: Keller Williams Realty’s Guide to Austin. Make sure to follow the guide and you are set!
Don’t wait until Mega Camp or until you are in Austin to start Foodspotting! Get started tonight out at dinner, while grabbing a Latte at your favorite coffee shop or maybe even get creative and put together a guide for your neighborhood and promote it to your clients. Most of all, have fun and happy Foodspotting!
Thursday, September 1, 2011
Manage your social brand on a budget
Provided By KW Blog
5 tools to maximize your social influence.
Maximizing your social influence doesn’t have to take a lot of time or money. In fact, spending 20 minutes a day Tweeting, Facebooking and general stalking is all you need to keep the conversation going. Here’s a quick rundown of a few popular social media management tools that can help you build more buzz in minimal time and for less buck.
TweetDeck: TweetDeck allows users to monitor and manage what’s happening across multiple social networking sites such as Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and foursquare all in one powerful and flexible custom-based dashboard. Free to use, the tool is (as the name indicates) best for viewing and managing multiple Twitter feeds, searches and mentions.
HootSuite: HootSuite is another social media dashboard for managing Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Wordpress and many of the other popular social networking sites. HootSuite’s feature to fame is its ability to schedule future posts and display statistics for your Tweets. For the agent on-the-go having your tweets go out at peak times of the day and being able to monitor analytics to tweak your strategy is an excellent asset to your overall Social Media plan. HootSuite also lets you manage multiple contributors and share data access without sharing passwords which is an added benefit for individuals who might have many team members posting.
SproutSocial: SproutSocial allows businesses to effieciently and effectively manage and grow their social presence across channels and turn social connections into loyal customers. The online application integrates well with Twitter, Facebook Pages, Yelp, LinkedIn, Foursquare and other networks where potential clients are engaging with your brand. While SproutSocial does come with a monthly fee (See Pricing Breakdown), its slick interface and integration features, including Google Analytics on one single dashboard make it a great option.
Actionly: Actionly’s claim is that it will help you with actionable insights from social media monitoring and Twitter analytics to help your grow your social media program. With Actionly you can monitor searches on Twitter, Facebook, Flickr, YouTube, Google Buzz, Blogs and news. The social media management tool, like TweetDeck, HootSuite and SproutSocial, has a Dashboard that lets you manage multiple Twitter and Facebook accounts and you can invite users and assign posts to manage your workflow. As for ROI, Actionly measures social media campaigns, post-click conversions and is also integrated with Google Analytics. Actionly has a free plan, however, they limit you to One Search. Prices go up from there.
NutshelllMail: Nutshell Mail, which is from ConstantContact is a free service that helps busy professionals keep track of critical conversations about their company and the competition, and keeps them informed about what their customers are talking about — all from the place where they spend most of their online time: email. Users can customize the content they want to track, add search terms, and choose how frequently they want to receive email updates. Users can keep track of Likes, Posts, Comments and Insights on Facebook and see new mentions, new followers, quitters, search results and tweets from favorite lists on the Twitter summary. The best part is being able to Tweet, Reply and DM without leaving your email inbox.
Choosing the right social media management tool will be based on which tool has the most robust features for the Social Media site you rely on for staying in touch with potential business. Finding more success on Facebook, Actionly’s analytics might be a better option, than say TweetDeck or NutshellMail which are super social tools for Twitter.
What’s your take? Which of the above tools has worked for you? Are there any social media management tools that you could recommend for personal use? Business?
5 tools to maximize your social influence.
Maximizing your social influence doesn’t have to take a lot of time or money. In fact, spending 20 minutes a day Tweeting, Facebooking and general stalking is all you need to keep the conversation going. Here’s a quick rundown of a few popular social media management tools that can help you build more buzz in minimal time and for less buck.
TweetDeck: TweetDeck allows users to monitor and manage what’s happening across multiple social networking sites such as Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and foursquare all in one powerful and flexible custom-based dashboard. Free to use, the tool is (as the name indicates) best for viewing and managing multiple Twitter feeds, searches and mentions.
HootSuite: HootSuite is another social media dashboard for managing Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Wordpress and many of the other popular social networking sites. HootSuite’s feature to fame is its ability to schedule future posts and display statistics for your Tweets. For the agent on-the-go having your tweets go out at peak times of the day and being able to monitor analytics to tweak your strategy is an excellent asset to your overall Social Media plan. HootSuite also lets you manage multiple contributors and share data access without sharing passwords which is an added benefit for individuals who might have many team members posting.
SproutSocial: SproutSocial allows businesses to effieciently and effectively manage and grow their social presence across channels and turn social connections into loyal customers. The online application integrates well with Twitter, Facebook Pages, Yelp, LinkedIn, Foursquare and other networks where potential clients are engaging with your brand. While SproutSocial does come with a monthly fee (See Pricing Breakdown), its slick interface and integration features, including Google Analytics on one single dashboard make it a great option.
Actionly: Actionly’s claim is that it will help you with actionable insights from social media monitoring and Twitter analytics to help your grow your social media program. With Actionly you can monitor searches on Twitter, Facebook, Flickr, YouTube, Google Buzz, Blogs and news. The social media management tool, like TweetDeck, HootSuite and SproutSocial, has a Dashboard that lets you manage multiple Twitter and Facebook accounts and you can invite users and assign posts to manage your workflow. As for ROI, Actionly measures social media campaigns, post-click conversions and is also integrated with Google Analytics. Actionly has a free plan, however, they limit you to One Search. Prices go up from there.
NutshelllMail: Nutshell Mail, which is from ConstantContact is a free service that helps busy professionals keep track of critical conversations about their company and the competition, and keeps them informed about what their customers are talking about — all from the place where they spend most of their online time: email. Users can customize the content they want to track, add search terms, and choose how frequently they want to receive email updates. Users can keep track of Likes, Posts, Comments and Insights on Facebook and see new mentions, new followers, quitters, search results and tweets from favorite lists on the Twitter summary. The best part is being able to Tweet, Reply and DM without leaving your email inbox.
Choosing the right social media management tool will be based on which tool has the most robust features for the Social Media site you rely on for staying in touch with potential business. Finding more success on Facebook, Actionly’s analytics might be a better option, than say TweetDeck or NutshellMail which are super social tools for Twitter.
What’s your take? Which of the above tools has worked for you? Are there any social media management tools that you could recommend for personal use? Business?
Tuesday, August 30, 2011
Selling is the Name of the Game
Provided By Realty Times
When I think of a Champion Agent, I think of a Champion Salesperson. That's someone who understands, accepts, and embraces the fact that sales and sales skills are the name of the game. The essence of selling in real estate is to create leads that you convert to clients and then to commission checks.
I often ask Agents, "If you had to choose to be exceptional in one of two areas of your business, and those two areas were creating clients or keeping clients, which one would you choose?" More than 75% of them will tell me keeping clients. Before I go any further, I want to state clearly that I think you have to do both well to be a Champion Agent. You have to be able to create and serve with success, but the question was worded "if you could only do one" for a reason. One is really a sales function: creating clients. One is customer service: keeping clients.
Most salespeople select the wrong one when given the choice between the two. The correct answer is creating clients. Again, I am not advocating such a narrow-minded approach, but we do need to establish priorities as businesspeople. We need to work on these strategic skills that will create the greatest return for us. The truth is you won’t have anyone to serve if you aren’t able to create clients with regularity and consistency. You can’t serve clients if you don’t create clients in the first place. Client service excellence is the direct result of a client’s service experience, so client creation is a necessary prerequisite to outstanding client service.
Client creation is harder than client servicing. It requires sales skills, consistency, and persistent prospecting for clients. We must acquire a level of sales skill and confidence to pick up the phone and call people we know and people we don’t know to ask them for the opportunity to do business with them. We also need to ask them to refer us to others who might benefit from our service. Selling is really the name of the game.
When I think of a Champion Agent, I think of a Champion Salesperson. That's someone who understands, accepts, and embraces the fact that sales and sales skills are the name of the game. The essence of selling in real estate is to create leads that you convert to clients and then to commission checks.
I often ask Agents, "If you had to choose to be exceptional in one of two areas of your business, and those two areas were creating clients or keeping clients, which one would you choose?" More than 75% of them will tell me keeping clients. Before I go any further, I want to state clearly that I think you have to do both well to be a Champion Agent. You have to be able to create and serve with success, but the question was worded "if you could only do one" for a reason. One is really a sales function: creating clients. One is customer service: keeping clients.
Most salespeople select the wrong one when given the choice between the two. The correct answer is creating clients. Again, I am not advocating such a narrow-minded approach, but we do need to establish priorities as businesspeople. We need to work on these strategic skills that will create the greatest return for us. The truth is you won’t have anyone to serve if you aren’t able to create clients with regularity and consistency. You can’t serve clients if you don’t create clients in the first place. Client service excellence is the direct result of a client’s service experience, so client creation is a necessary prerequisite to outstanding client service.
Client creation is harder than client servicing. It requires sales skills, consistency, and persistent prospecting for clients. We must acquire a level of sales skill and confidence to pick up the phone and call people we know and people we don’t know to ask them for the opportunity to do business with them. We also need to ask them to refer us to others who might benefit from our service. Selling is really the name of the game.
Thursday, August 25, 2011
10 Ways to Win Clients with Video
Provided By KW Blog
According to an article on Mashable.com, 73% of homeowners are more likely to list with a realtor using video, yet only 12% of agents have a YouTube channel. If you haven’t already, there is still a huge opportunity to bring video into your business and use it to get your unfair share of the market. Here are 10 tips to get you started:
TIP #1: Know Your Goal
You can essentially do 5 broad types of video in your real estate business:
• Branding videos – Show your Unique Value Prop, Client Testimonials, etc.
• Buyer Videos – use video to show house to remote clients, use to shed light on inspection issue
• Seller/Listing Videos – market the house; virtual tour on steroids
• News/Industry Videos – Real estate how to’s, hot topics, tips for buyers/sellers
• Community/Lifestyle Videos – Offer info on neighborhood, community, niche that you specialize in serving
TIP #2: Know Your Brand – video will bring your brand to life; know your colors, style, tone before you start filming; you don’t have to use beautiful or expensive graphics; keep it simple and supportive of your brand.
TIP #3: Don’t just make a commercial – people want value on the web, not advertising; at least offer a valuable tip or testimonial if you do a “commercial”
TIP #4: Provide Value – Give the viewer something they can use immediately or answer a question/pain/fear they have; make it topical, timely, applicable
TIP #5: Keep it short and sweet – most web videos should be 3 min or less. And video is shareable, don’t ever be negative. It’s out there forever, even if you take the video down.
TIP #6: Learn and Use YouTube – there are a variety of solutions designed for real estate agents but YouTube is a great, and more importantly FREE, place to start.
TIP #7: Tag and Embed your videos – this will help with SEO and getting your video seen (see #6)
TIP #8: Interact with your viewers – video is social media so comment and share with your fans; You can use video to ask great questions or get a dialogue started on Facebook or Twitter.
TIP #9: Get Your Clients involved – have your favorite clients offer a buyer/seller tip on video and give a testimonial at the same time. Document your reputation through video – NAR stats prove year after year that the agents local reputation matters most to homeowners – film these at the closing table, don’t “fake it”.
TIP #10: Keep it simple and cheap – don’t spend money until the videos are making you money; just like any other technology, video can get expensive quickly; hold your money/effort accountable to bringing you business.
Tip #11: We added one in for good measure. The Kodak PlayTouch is an affordable handheld camera that makes your video and sound look professional! Just be sure to purchase the microphone accessory to pin to people you’re filming – the sound quality is excellent.
According to an article on Mashable.com, 73% of homeowners are more likely to list with a realtor using video, yet only 12% of agents have a YouTube channel. If you haven’t already, there is still a huge opportunity to bring video into your business and use it to get your unfair share of the market. Here are 10 tips to get you started:
TIP #1: Know Your Goal
You can essentially do 5 broad types of video in your real estate business:
• Branding videos – Show your Unique Value Prop, Client Testimonials, etc.
• Buyer Videos – use video to show house to remote clients, use to shed light on inspection issue
• Seller/Listing Videos – market the house; virtual tour on steroids
• News/Industry Videos – Real estate how to’s, hot topics, tips for buyers/sellers
• Community/Lifestyle Videos – Offer info on neighborhood, community, niche that you specialize in serving
TIP #2: Know Your Brand – video will bring your brand to life; know your colors, style, tone before you start filming; you don’t have to use beautiful or expensive graphics; keep it simple and supportive of your brand.
TIP #3: Don’t just make a commercial – people want value on the web, not advertising; at least offer a valuable tip or testimonial if you do a “commercial”
TIP #4: Provide Value – Give the viewer something they can use immediately or answer a question/pain/fear they have; make it topical, timely, applicable
TIP #5: Keep it short and sweet – most web videos should be 3 min or less. And video is shareable, don’t ever be negative. It’s out there forever, even if you take the video down.
TIP #6: Learn and Use YouTube – there are a variety of solutions designed for real estate agents but YouTube is a great, and more importantly FREE, place to start.
TIP #7: Tag and Embed your videos – this will help with SEO and getting your video seen (see #6)
TIP #8: Interact with your viewers – video is social media so comment and share with your fans; You can use video to ask great questions or get a dialogue started on Facebook or Twitter.
TIP #9: Get Your Clients involved – have your favorite clients offer a buyer/seller tip on video and give a testimonial at the same time. Document your reputation through video – NAR stats prove year after year that the agents local reputation matters most to homeowners – film these at the closing table, don’t “fake it”.
TIP #10: Keep it simple and cheap – don’t spend money until the videos are making you money; just like any other technology, video can get expensive quickly; hold your money/effort accountable to bringing you business.
Tip #11: We added one in for good measure. The Kodak PlayTouch is an affordable handheld camera that makes your video and sound look professional! Just be sure to purchase the microphone accessory to pin to people you’re filming – the sound quality is excellent.
Tuesday, August 23, 2011
Should you care about Google+
Provided By KW Blog
“Toto, I have a feeling we‘re not in Kansas anymore”
Whenever I login to Google+ I feel a little like Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz. Upon entering, Google’s new social space has the feeling of a familiar world but things around me are suddenly different.
I’m intrigued. I’m curious. And frankly, I’m also a little confused. Hrm.
Why am I here? Where should I go next? Who should I take with me? What the heck does it mean to +1 something?
What’s great about Google+ is that it is new and different, yet reminiscent of our general social interactions. What’s challenging about Google+ is that it’s new, different and adds a whole new layer of complication to our online, socially-driven lives.
What we need here is a Google+ Yellow Brick Road! Let’s get skipping friends. (And put the Wizard of Oz allusion to rest).
WHAT IS Google+?
For those of you who have been stuck in Kansas (you thought I was done!) for the past month, Google+ – also known as Google Plus, or G+ – is Google’s largest attempt at a social networking site. It integrates with other social services such as Google Profiles and Google Buzz and incorporates several new services within the platform including:
1.+Circles – Enable you to organize contacts into groups for sharing across various Google products and services.
2.+Hangouts – Used to facilitate group chat (with a maximum of 10 people participating in a single Hangout
3.+Sparks – Enables users to identify topics they might be interested in sharing with others. “Featured Interests” Sparks are also available, based on topics others globally find interesting.
4.+Huddles – A group messaging feature available within the Google+ mobile app. Rather than sending text messages to each person in a circle the user sends Huddle messages to the group.
Google+ is also the search engine giant’s attempt to rival Facebook and its 750 million users.
STAT-TASTIC
Here are the big numbers you should know:
Of the 25 million, the U.S. leads in Google+ usage with about 6.44 million unique visitors. 63% of its users are male compared to 37% female. The biggest age group using Google+ is 25-34 with 35%, followed by 18-23 with 23%. The top Google+ markets in the U.S. are Austin, Texas, the Bay Area and Minneapolis-St. Paul. As of August 3, comScore was reporting that the number of users on Google+ had reached 25 million.
WHY SHOULD REAL ESTATE PROFESSIONALS CARE?
These numbers make Google+ the fastest to reach 25 million users among top social networking sites – a possible indication that this Google product has legs and will soon become part of your online real estate marketing mix … maybe. It truly remains to be seen if and when the greater public (your clients) will latch on, but at the rate its growing and the improvements Google is making, many techies are betting on its success.
PERFECT CIRCLES
Circles is arguably Google+’s greatest strength. They’ve essentially taken a fundamental element of Facebook and for lack of a better word, Plus-ed it! Circles are simply Google’s way of letting you bucket your network into different groups and it’s incredibly simple!
As a real estate agent, you might create buckets for Friends, Family, Co-op Agents, Past Clients, and Buyers and Sellers. When you add someone to the Circle they are notified that they belong to one of your Circles (and conveniently they don’t know which one – Genius!)
Creating smart Circles will allow you to target your messages, photos, updates, videos and favorite articles to specific groups of people.
SEO-CENTRIC
If Circles help you reach the right audience with the right message then the Stream, Sparks and +1 features help people find information that is relevant to them and their search and put their stamp of approval on it.
There’s been quite a bit of buzz lately on whether Google+ will start influencing Page Rank (meaning, if a link shared on G+ is weighted more than others improving your placement in certain search results). If it does, then the SEO benefits become a powerful reason to add Google+ to your social media arsenal.
The bottom line is this: these days, public endorsement and word of mouth are far more effective at generating business than traditional advertising – assuming you make an effort to consistently keep your brand in front of your audience.
THE MILLION DOLLAR QUESTION: IS IT WORTH YOUR TIME?
Jay Papasan, Vice President of Publishing at Keller Williams Realty and coauthor of Soci@l, said it well, “Unless your clients happen to be early-adopting, tech-savvy men between the age of 25 and 34, then you might want to wait to go ‘all in’ on Google+. The large majority of your clients may not be there yet. Just keep an eye on it while you invest your time and energy in more proven lead sources.”
At the very least, get on, get started building your profile and creating Circles (more on all of these next week). Then continue to master LinkedIN, Facebook and Twitter as your online lead generators until the masses make it to G+.
Already on Google+ – Come find us: Jay Papasan Laura Price
Not there yet, but want to be? The first 20 people to post this on either Facebook or Twitter (and tell me about it) will get a Google+ invite. Just comment on the blog or send me an email to laura.price1@kw.com to let me know you posted it and claim your entry.
“Toto, I have a feeling we‘re not in Kansas anymore”
Whenever I login to Google+ I feel a little like Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz. Upon entering, Google’s new social space has the feeling of a familiar world but things around me are suddenly different.
I’m intrigued. I’m curious. And frankly, I’m also a little confused. Hrm.
Why am I here? Where should I go next? Who should I take with me? What the heck does it mean to +1 something?
What’s great about Google+ is that it is new and different, yet reminiscent of our general social interactions. What’s challenging about Google+ is that it’s new, different and adds a whole new layer of complication to our online, socially-driven lives.
What we need here is a Google+ Yellow Brick Road! Let’s get skipping friends. (And put the Wizard of Oz allusion to rest).
WHAT IS Google+?
For those of you who have been stuck in Kansas (you thought I was done!) for the past month, Google+ – also known as Google Plus, or G+ – is Google’s largest attempt at a social networking site. It integrates with other social services such as Google Profiles and Google Buzz and incorporates several new services within the platform including:
1.+Circles – Enable you to organize contacts into groups for sharing across various Google products and services.
2.+Hangouts – Used to facilitate group chat (with a maximum of 10 people participating in a single Hangout
3.+Sparks – Enables users to identify topics they might be interested in sharing with others. “Featured Interests” Sparks are also available, based on topics others globally find interesting.
4.+Huddles – A group messaging feature available within the Google+ mobile app. Rather than sending text messages to each person in a circle the user sends Huddle messages to the group.
Google+ is also the search engine giant’s attempt to rival Facebook and its 750 million users.
STAT-TASTIC
Here are the big numbers you should know:
Of the 25 million, the U.S. leads in Google+ usage with about 6.44 million unique visitors. 63% of its users are male compared to 37% female. The biggest age group using Google+ is 25-34 with 35%, followed by 18-23 with 23%. The top Google+ markets in the U.S. are Austin, Texas, the Bay Area and Minneapolis-St. Paul. As of August 3, comScore was reporting that the number of users on Google+ had reached 25 million.
WHY SHOULD REAL ESTATE PROFESSIONALS CARE?
These numbers make Google+ the fastest to reach 25 million users among top social networking sites – a possible indication that this Google product has legs and will soon become part of your online real estate marketing mix … maybe. It truly remains to be seen if and when the greater public (your clients) will latch on, but at the rate its growing and the improvements Google is making, many techies are betting on its success.
PERFECT CIRCLES
Circles is arguably Google+’s greatest strength. They’ve essentially taken a fundamental element of Facebook and for lack of a better word, Plus-ed it! Circles are simply Google’s way of letting you bucket your network into different groups and it’s incredibly simple!
As a real estate agent, you might create buckets for Friends, Family, Co-op Agents, Past Clients, and Buyers and Sellers. When you add someone to the Circle they are notified that they belong to one of your Circles (and conveniently they don’t know which one – Genius!)
Creating smart Circles will allow you to target your messages, photos, updates, videos and favorite articles to specific groups of people.
SEO-CENTRIC
If Circles help you reach the right audience with the right message then the Stream, Sparks and +1 features help people find information that is relevant to them and their search and put their stamp of approval on it.
There’s been quite a bit of buzz lately on whether Google+ will start influencing Page Rank (meaning, if a link shared on G+ is weighted more than others improving your placement in certain search results). If it does, then the SEO benefits become a powerful reason to add Google+ to your social media arsenal.
The bottom line is this: these days, public endorsement and word of mouth are far more effective at generating business than traditional advertising – assuming you make an effort to consistently keep your brand in front of your audience.
THE MILLION DOLLAR QUESTION: IS IT WORTH YOUR TIME?
Jay Papasan, Vice President of Publishing at Keller Williams Realty and coauthor of Soci@l, said it well, “Unless your clients happen to be early-adopting, tech-savvy men between the age of 25 and 34, then you might want to wait to go ‘all in’ on Google+. The large majority of your clients may not be there yet. Just keep an eye on it while you invest your time and energy in more proven lead sources.”
At the very least, get on, get started building your profile and creating Circles (more on all of these next week). Then continue to master LinkedIN, Facebook and Twitter as your online lead generators until the masses make it to G+.
Already on Google+ – Come find us: Jay Papasan Laura Price
Not there yet, but want to be? The first 20 people to post this on either Facebook or Twitter (and tell me about it) will get a Google+ invite. Just comment on the blog or send me an email to laura.price1@kw.com to let me know you posted it and claim your entry.
Thursday, August 4, 2011
Pulling Back the Curtain on Success
Provided By Realty Times
The truth is most Agents want to share with you how they achieved success; they passionately share their techniques and the mentors, coaches, or speakers who helped them. I caution you – more than 95% truly have no idea or can’t quantify their success for you. They don’t really know how they got there or what it cost to produce it. They heard a great idea in their mind, put it into place, but haven’t tracked it according to really know the ROI (Return on Investment).
In the movie The Wizard of Oz, Dorothy, the Scarecrow, the Tin Man, and the Cowardly Lion were all scared of the great and powerful Oz. They shook with fear at the shear intensity and volume of his voice. Toto was the one to reveal that Oz was a little man behind the curtain using a sound system to produce the illusion of greatness and power. Too often, the great Oz is a parallel to the great Realtor. We need to pull back the curtain to make sure what we are seeing is real.
Too often, Agents are mesmerized by the promotional gimmicks and marketing strategies that other Agents say “work like magic”. There is nothing wrong with marketing, provided you are doing the real work of pulling the prospecting levers behind the scenes. Prospecting makes it’s own magic over the short and long run. Again, prospecting can just be calling past clients and your sphere. It doesn’t have to be all the other activities that most Agents don’t want to do.
The big challenge is how do we pull back the curtain? How do we find out the real truth? We have to ask the right questions, so we can gain the answers that reveal the truth. If someone approaches you with great and powerful business-generating techniques, ask these types of questions:
What is the conversion ratio on this technique?
What percentage of your business comes from this approach?
How many transactions dos this technique generate for you annually?
How much does it cost you to use this marketing service to generate leads?
How many Sellers have you gained?
How many Buyers have you gained from this approach?
How much time do you need to invest to set this technique up and maintain it?
Have you included the value of your time in that equation?
What is your net profit from this activity after all your costs are subtracted?
I have found from asking these types of questions for over thirteen years that most people don’t have the answers. I began asking these questions about my third year in the real estate business. I did this because I was the type of person who wanted to do better. I would listen to these so called superstar Agents and how they did business. In many cases, I would implement their strategy exactly and not get anywhere near the results the Agent claimed. I developed this list of questions and discovered that very few Agents could actually answer them. They just liked the ego boost of being a panelist, star, or whatever you want to call them. There are many Speakers and Trainers who fell into this category as well. Be careful! Some did know the answers, however, and those are the people I respect even today.
The truth is most Agents want to share with you how they achieved success; they passionately share their techniques and the mentors, coaches, or speakers who helped them. I caution you – more than 95% truly have no idea or can’t quantify their success for you. They don’t really know how they got there or what it cost to produce it. They heard a great idea in their mind, put it into place, but haven’t tracked it according to really know the ROI (Return on Investment).
In the movie The Wizard of Oz, Dorothy, the Scarecrow, the Tin Man, and the Cowardly Lion were all scared of the great and powerful Oz. They shook with fear at the shear intensity and volume of his voice. Toto was the one to reveal that Oz was a little man behind the curtain using a sound system to produce the illusion of greatness and power. Too often, the great Oz is a parallel to the great Realtor. We need to pull back the curtain to make sure what we are seeing is real.
Too often, Agents are mesmerized by the promotional gimmicks and marketing strategies that other Agents say “work like magic”. There is nothing wrong with marketing, provided you are doing the real work of pulling the prospecting levers behind the scenes. Prospecting makes it’s own magic over the short and long run. Again, prospecting can just be calling past clients and your sphere. It doesn’t have to be all the other activities that most Agents don’t want to do.
The big challenge is how do we pull back the curtain? How do we find out the real truth? We have to ask the right questions, so we can gain the answers that reveal the truth. If someone approaches you with great and powerful business-generating techniques, ask these types of questions:
What is the conversion ratio on this technique?
What percentage of your business comes from this approach?
How many transactions dos this technique generate for you annually?
How much does it cost you to use this marketing service to generate leads?
How many Sellers have you gained?
How many Buyers have you gained from this approach?
How much time do you need to invest to set this technique up and maintain it?
Have you included the value of your time in that equation?
What is your net profit from this activity after all your costs are subtracted?
I have found from asking these types of questions for over thirteen years that most people don’t have the answers. I began asking these questions about my third year in the real estate business. I did this because I was the type of person who wanted to do better. I would listen to these so called superstar Agents and how they did business. In many cases, I would implement their strategy exactly and not get anywhere near the results the Agent claimed. I developed this list of questions and discovered that very few Agents could actually answer them. They just liked the ego boost of being a panelist, star, or whatever you want to call them. There are many Speakers and Trainers who fell into this category as well. Be careful! Some did know the answers, however, and those are the people I respect even today.
Tuesday, August 2, 2011
Let's Party With a Purpose!
Provided By KW Cares
It is getting to be that time of the year again and the biggest party of the year is just around the corner! Party With a Purpose will be held at the Hilton Austin on Tuesday, September 20 from 5:30 - 8:30 pm during Mega Camp. This don't miss event features the zany 80s stylings of the sensational Spazmatics! Our action packed live auction and silent auction will be back with amazing new items. This is time for food, family and Mega Fun to raise money for KW Cares so that we can continue to help our KW family members in need. Click here to order your ticket now! Do not be left out of what is sure to be the talk of the night!
It is getting to be that time of the year again and the biggest party of the year is just around the corner! Party With a Purpose will be held at the Hilton Austin on Tuesday, September 20 from 5:30 - 8:30 pm during Mega Camp. This don't miss event features the zany 80s stylings of the sensational Spazmatics! Our action packed live auction and silent auction will be back with amazing new items. This is time for food, family and Mega Fun to raise money for KW Cares so that we can continue to help our KW family members in need. Click here to order your ticket now! Do not be left out of what is sure to be the talk of the night!
Thursday, July 21, 2011
Tuesday, July 19, 2011
Six Steps to Improve Your Listing Presentation
Provided By Realty Times
To really take your listing presentation to the highest level, you need to follow these guidelines and steps for the next sixty days. The longer you wait, the longer it will take for you to reach the Champion Agent level. These steps will make you a Champion in a short timeframe.
1. Practice your listing presentation once a day for the next sixty days. Your ability to go through the presentation frequently enough will make the difference. If you only do your presentation a few times a year or even a few times a month, the improvement will be noticed.
2. Role-play your qualifying questions twice a day for the next sixty days. If you have those questions nailed in your mind and your delivery, your confidence will go through the roof.
3. Work on the major objections on the listing side of the business for thirty minutes each day for the next sixty days.
1.I want to think it over.
2.I want a shorter listing period.
3.I want you to cut your commission.
4.Another agent will list it at a higher price.
5.I need to net __________.
6.I don’t want to give it away.
7.I want to do a few fix ups before I list.
8.I want to talk with a few other agents.
9.You don’t sell homes in my area.
10.I have never heard of your company before.
4. Tape your listing presentation and listen to it. This is the best way to know what you are really saying. The universal truth I learned by listening to over fifty listing presentations on tape is that we talk more than we listen. Over 80% of the presentation is usually the agent talking. The seller should be talking 80% of the time, not the agent. My suggestion, before you listen to your presentation, is to pour yourself a large glass of your favorite adult beverage – maybe even the whole bottle; you will need it.
5. Evaluate your performance on every presentation. Champion performers are the people who are the most honest with themselves. Evaluate yourself after every presentation. Be honest with yourself on how you did, but don’t be too hard. Ask yourself the following questions and write down the responses. You will learn from your mistakes and improve, instead of making the same mistake over and over again – as most people do.
1.What are two or three things I did well?
2.Did I listen to the client’s concerns?
3.How much of the time did I talk?
4.How much of the time did my client talk?
5.Did I stay on track during the presentation?
6.What objections caused me problems?
7.What is the one area I need to improve on?
8.What did my client get most excited about?
9.What steps do I need to take to stay on track better?
10.What could I have done differently to get the listing?
Being a Champion Agent starts with having a Champion listing presentation. The preparation beforehand is the area I believe most agents really need to focus on immediately. If you go into a presentation with more information than your competitors, you will win 80% of the time at least – even if the other agents are there because of a referral.
To really take your listing presentation to the highest level, you need to follow these guidelines and steps for the next sixty days. The longer you wait, the longer it will take for you to reach the Champion Agent level. These steps will make you a Champion in a short timeframe.
1. Practice your listing presentation once a day for the next sixty days. Your ability to go through the presentation frequently enough will make the difference. If you only do your presentation a few times a year or even a few times a month, the improvement will be noticed.
2. Role-play your qualifying questions twice a day for the next sixty days. If you have those questions nailed in your mind and your delivery, your confidence will go through the roof.
3. Work on the major objections on the listing side of the business for thirty minutes each day for the next sixty days.
1.I want to think it over.
2.I want a shorter listing period.
3.I want you to cut your commission.
4.Another agent will list it at a higher price.
5.I need to net __________.
6.I don’t want to give it away.
7.I want to do a few fix ups before I list.
8.I want to talk with a few other agents.
9.You don’t sell homes in my area.
10.I have never heard of your company before.
4. Tape your listing presentation and listen to it. This is the best way to know what you are really saying. The universal truth I learned by listening to over fifty listing presentations on tape is that we talk more than we listen. Over 80% of the presentation is usually the agent talking. The seller should be talking 80% of the time, not the agent. My suggestion, before you listen to your presentation, is to pour yourself a large glass of your favorite adult beverage – maybe even the whole bottle; you will need it.
5. Evaluate your performance on every presentation. Champion performers are the people who are the most honest with themselves. Evaluate yourself after every presentation. Be honest with yourself on how you did, but don’t be too hard. Ask yourself the following questions and write down the responses. You will learn from your mistakes and improve, instead of making the same mistake over and over again – as most people do.
1.What are two or three things I did well?
2.Did I listen to the client’s concerns?
3.How much of the time did I talk?
4.How much of the time did my client talk?
5.Did I stay on track during the presentation?
6.What objections caused me problems?
7.What is the one area I need to improve on?
8.What did my client get most excited about?
9.What steps do I need to take to stay on track better?
10.What could I have done differently to get the listing?
Being a Champion Agent starts with having a Champion listing presentation. The preparation beforehand is the area I believe most agents really need to focus on immediately. If you go into a presentation with more information than your competitors, you will win 80% of the time at least – even if the other agents are there because of a referral.
Thursday, July 14, 2011
How Rising Interest Rates Will Impact Affordability
Provided By KW Blog
In a recent Forbes blog post, multimillionaire hedge fund manager John Paulson declared that today’s record-low interest rates made this the best time to buy homes in fifty years. “If you don’t own a home, buy one,” Paulson said. “If you own one home, buy another one, and if you own two homes, buy a third and lend your relatives the money to buy a home.” Why should we care what Paulson thinks? Well, he was among the few to accurately predict the subprime collapse and, while no one has a crystal ball, a closer look at the numbers supports his call to action.
Historically low interest rates are the key…and they aren’t likely to hang around for long.
As we wrote in SHIFT, buyers who “choose to wait until prices come down more” are gambling that interest rates will hold steady or drop. The truth is even a 10 percent drop in home prices is nullified by a 1 percent increase in interest rates. The figure below illustrates how this works for a $250,000 home purchase and the relative likelihood of each scenario.
To figure out which was a smarter bet–counting on home prices to fall further or interest rates to rise–our research department took the last ten years of monthly home price and mortgage interest rate data and ran the numbers to see which was more likely: an increase in mortgage rates or a further drop in home prices. Here’s what we found:
1.A one percent increase in mortgage rates is ten times more likely to happen than a ten percent drop in home prices.
2.A one percent rate increase more than offsets a ten percent reduction in home prices.
3.When interest rates fall by one percent, the total interest paid is almost three times more than the interest savings from a ten percent drop in home prices.
4.The probability of both happening at the same time is ridiculously small, and homeowners would still pay 15 percent more in interest over the life of the loan.
Interest rates have dominated the news in recent months as we’ve shattered record low after record low. Potential home buyers need to understand the positive financial impact low interest rates have on the cost of home ownership and the thousands of dollars that can be saved over the life of a typical mortgage loan. For those who can afford to buy, trade up, or invest, our current market presents a lifetime opportunity.
In a recent Forbes blog post, multimillionaire hedge fund manager John Paulson declared that today’s record-low interest rates made this the best time to buy homes in fifty years. “If you don’t own a home, buy one,” Paulson said. “If you own one home, buy another one, and if you own two homes, buy a third and lend your relatives the money to buy a home.” Why should we care what Paulson thinks? Well, he was among the few to accurately predict the subprime collapse and, while no one has a crystal ball, a closer look at the numbers supports his call to action.
Historically low interest rates are the key…and they aren’t likely to hang around for long.
As we wrote in SHIFT, buyers who “choose to wait until prices come down more” are gambling that interest rates will hold steady or drop. The truth is even a 10 percent drop in home prices is nullified by a 1 percent increase in interest rates. The figure below illustrates how this works for a $250,000 home purchase and the relative likelihood of each scenario.
To figure out which was a smarter bet–counting on home prices to fall further or interest rates to rise–our research department took the last ten years of monthly home price and mortgage interest rate data and ran the numbers to see which was more likely: an increase in mortgage rates or a further drop in home prices. Here’s what we found:
1.A one percent increase in mortgage rates is ten times more likely to happen than a ten percent drop in home prices.
2.A one percent rate increase more than offsets a ten percent reduction in home prices.
3.When interest rates fall by one percent, the total interest paid is almost three times more than the interest savings from a ten percent drop in home prices.
4.The probability of both happening at the same time is ridiculously small, and homeowners would still pay 15 percent more in interest over the life of the loan.
Interest rates have dominated the news in recent months as we’ve shattered record low after record low. Potential home buyers need to understand the positive financial impact low interest rates have on the cost of home ownership and the thousands of dollars that can be saved over the life of a typical mortgage loan. For those who can afford to buy, trade up, or invest, our current market presents a lifetime opportunity.
Tuesday, July 12, 2011
The Buyer Interview: The Value of Your Services
Provided By Realty Times
When we look at our complete value and the process of representing buyers' interests, the service of a professional real estate agent carries a high level of value. If you can quantify the value the client receives, you can sell your services more effectively and easily. At Real Estate Champions, we have been able to chart out the value of the services that buyers receive for most real estate agents. We have charted this out in terms of percentage of sales price.
Buyer Services and Value
Process Knowledge / Counsel --- 1/2 %
Market Knowledge -- 1/2 %
Needs Assessment -- 1/2 %
Selection Assistance -- 1/2 %
Correct Contract Writing -- 1 %
Presenting Favorably -- 1 – 2 %
Negotiation / Representation -- 1 – 2 %
Financing Assistance -- 1 %
Closing Processing -- 1 %
Follow-Up Communication -- 1%
TOTAL -- 7 – 9%
"You will receive easily 7% to 9% of the sales price in valuable service from me. The best part is you receive all this, and it costs you really nothing. Isn't that great?
The seller actually pays the fee through the transaction costs. All the services that you receive from me are covered through the transaction. So you get someone with knowledge, assessment skill, selection assistance, proper contract preparation, presenting and negotiating, financial counsel, management and orchestration and after sale service for free!! The only thing I ask is for is an exchange of your commitment, which we will talk about in a few minutes. Okay? Does this sound like the services you are looking for? Does what we have gone over thus far make sense? Do you have any questions?”
While most agents' conversations center on the home the client wants to buy, the Champion Agent doesn't talk about that subject until after this stage of the presentation or later. Once enough value and differential for you and your services has been established, you have two options: continue down the agenda to completion or work to close them right now on the Buyer's Agency Contract.
I have many clients who, after they have built the value for their services, discuss the exchange of commitments necessary for them to continue working with this prospect. Either approach is correct, based on the current prospect and your individual style of sales. But you must establish yourself and your value to the buyer first.
When we look at our complete value and the process of representing buyers' interests, the service of a professional real estate agent carries a high level of value. If you can quantify the value the client receives, you can sell your services more effectively and easily. At Real Estate Champions, we have been able to chart out the value of the services that buyers receive for most real estate agents. We have charted this out in terms of percentage of sales price.
Buyer Services and Value
Process Knowledge / Counsel --- 1/2 %
Market Knowledge -- 1/2 %
Needs Assessment -- 1/2 %
Selection Assistance -- 1/2 %
Correct Contract Writing -- 1 %
Presenting Favorably -- 1 – 2 %
Negotiation / Representation -- 1 – 2 %
Financing Assistance -- 1 %
Closing Processing -- 1 %
Follow-Up Communication -- 1%
TOTAL -- 7 – 9%
"You will receive easily 7% to 9% of the sales price in valuable service from me. The best part is you receive all this, and it costs you really nothing. Isn't that great?
The seller actually pays the fee through the transaction costs. All the services that you receive from me are covered through the transaction. So you get someone with knowledge, assessment skill, selection assistance, proper contract preparation, presenting and negotiating, financial counsel, management and orchestration and after sale service for free!! The only thing I ask is for is an exchange of your commitment, which we will talk about in a few minutes. Okay? Does this sound like the services you are looking for? Does what we have gone over thus far make sense? Do you have any questions?”
While most agents' conversations center on the home the client wants to buy, the Champion Agent doesn't talk about that subject until after this stage of the presentation or later. Once enough value and differential for you and your services has been established, you have two options: continue down the agenda to completion or work to close them right now on the Buyer's Agency Contract.
I have many clients who, after they have built the value for their services, discuss the exchange of commitments necessary for them to continue working with this prospect. Either approach is correct, based on the current prospect and your individual style of sales. But you must establish yourself and your value to the buyer first.
Thursday, July 7, 2011
Ben Kinney on winning clients with KLOUT
Provided By KW Blog
Several months ago, I attended a Ben Kinney Internet Lead Generation training session at the Austin Southwest Market Center.
After the presentation, Ben and I got to talking about how agents communicate with their clients online and how they are using social media platforms to successfully influence people who follow them. The conversation led us to questions about Facebook, Twitter and social media’s return on investment (ROI). At which point, Ben asked: “Have you heard of Klout?”
For those who don’t know, the Klout Score is the measurement of your overall online influence. The scores range from 1 to 100 with higher scores representing a wider and stronger sphere of influence. Klout uses more than 35 variables on Facebook and Twitter to measure True Reach, Amplification Probability, and Network Score.
“Of course I have” I said. “All I see between you, Liz Landry, Mariana Wagner, Jay Papasan, Chris Smith and a handful of other popular social networkers is you tweeting back and forth about how high your Klout score is but What I want to know is how does your Klout score bring in more business? How can we help agents understand the purpose behind communicating in the online environment as a strategy for creating meaningful relationships that turn into clients? In other words, how does Klout = Closings?”
“I think I can answer that.” Thankfully there was a camera handy. Here’s Ben’s explanation on Klout and some ideas for using your influence as an effective marketing strategy to generate more business. To continue reading Ben Kinney on Winning Clients with KLOUT click here...
Several months ago, I attended a Ben Kinney Internet Lead Generation training session at the Austin Southwest Market Center.
After the presentation, Ben and I got to talking about how agents communicate with their clients online and how they are using social media platforms to successfully influence people who follow them. The conversation led us to questions about Facebook, Twitter and social media’s return on investment (ROI). At which point, Ben asked: “Have you heard of Klout?”
For those who don’t know, the Klout Score is the measurement of your overall online influence. The scores range from 1 to 100 with higher scores representing a wider and stronger sphere of influence. Klout uses more than 35 variables on Facebook and Twitter to measure True Reach, Amplification Probability, and Network Score.
“Of course I have” I said. “All I see between you, Liz Landry, Mariana Wagner, Jay Papasan, Chris Smith and a handful of other popular social networkers is you tweeting back and forth about how high your Klout score is but What I want to know is how does your Klout score bring in more business? How can we help agents understand the purpose behind communicating in the online environment as a strategy for creating meaningful relationships that turn into clients? In other words, how does Klout = Closings?”
“I think I can answer that.” Thankfully there was a camera handy. Here’s Ben’s explanation on Klout and some ideas for using your influence as an effective marketing strategy to generate more business. To continue reading Ben Kinney on Winning Clients with KLOUT click here...
Saturday, July 2, 2011
Happy Independence Day!
From our KW family to yours, we wish you a Happy Indepence Day! May you have a fun and safe holiday!
-Keller Williams Rockwall
Thursday, June 30, 2011
Real Estate in the Electronic Age
Provided By KW Blog
He looks forward to the day when all transactions are conducted entirely online and all signed contracts are stored electronically—no more paper—and can be accessed online, from any location. He has been looking at DotLoop as a possible solution, but faces the challenge of not every local MLS supporting electronic transactions yet.
Ben makes the most of what technology has to offer and avoids tools that don’t generate a sale or lead. A few of his favorite tools are listed below.
•Zendesk is a trouble-ticket system which also stores answers to frequently-asked questions in a wiki. Ben’s team uses Zendesk to free up admin time.
•Mojo can increase productivity by 300% by reducing downtime during lead generation time blocks. Its auto-dialer calls 3 numbers at a time, sending only the live calls and leaving a custom voice mail for the others.
•Flowtown lets you import your contacts’ email addresses and find out how to contact them via all of their social media accounts. This is a great tool to help you incorporate social media into your 8 x 8 or 33 Touch campaigns.
•Nearby Tweets finds Twitterers located near you. You can specify the search radius as well as include keywords in tweets.
He looks forward to the day when all transactions are conducted entirely online and all signed contracts are stored electronically—no more paper—and can be accessed online, from any location. He has been looking at DotLoop as a possible solution, but faces the challenge of not every local MLS supporting electronic transactions yet.
Ben makes the most of what technology has to offer and avoids tools that don’t generate a sale or lead. A few of his favorite tools are listed below.
•Zendesk is a trouble-ticket system which also stores answers to frequently-asked questions in a wiki. Ben’s team uses Zendesk to free up admin time.
•Mojo can increase productivity by 300% by reducing downtime during lead generation time blocks. Its auto-dialer calls 3 numbers at a time, sending only the live calls and leaving a custom voice mail for the others.
•Flowtown lets you import your contacts’ email addresses and find out how to contact them via all of their social media accounts. This is a great tool to help you incorporate social media into your 8 x 8 or 33 Touch campaigns.
•Nearby Tweets finds Twitterers located near you. You can specify the search radius as well as include keywords in tweets.
Tuesday, June 28, 2011
Drumming up Business in a Down Market
Provided By Realty Times
The real estate market has ups and downs. When it's good, buyers and sellers flock to the market. When it's down, the game changes. Newer agents who began their careers during the boom era are finding this out the hard way. Seasoned agents, on the other hand, knew that this time would come again. They know when the going gets tough, you must get creative.
Yet, much has changed over the past few decades. Technology has revolutionized the way people shop for and buy homes. How can you drum up business in a down market?
The first rule of a down market is to network. Social media sites have made certain aspects of this task more accessible. Facebook is a great way to keep in touch with local businesses, old clients, colleagues, and friends (who can turn into new clients). You're able to keep a pulse on what's happening in their lives. Who is in the market to move? Who needs more space in their home?
Twitter is another way to get your name out into the community. You could update your Twitter with weekly interest rate news, local market reports, as well as new homes you have listed for sale. Past and present clients would have direct access to your daily or weekly news feed!
Being a part of your local community is integral to networking. Volunteering and attending social functions, community gatherings, and local school events is a good way to get your face and name recognized. Real estates agents base their business on who they know.
You can also have a market presence online with an up-to-date website. Template sites or do-it-yourself sites (unless you're a professional) are not recommended. Buyers and sellers Google search for their local agents. Not having a website could mean you'll get passed over. Having an amateur website could mean the same thing. Invest a little time and money into maintaining a professional and useful website.
Useful websites include links to the most recent listings, recent advice articles or newsletters, webcasts, your background information, and local information for new residents. Give them access to local city phone numbers and locations for the DMV, hotels, and popular restaurants.
Spread the word about your website and business by carrying business cards with you at all times. These cards should be simple designs that provide your contact information, location, and website.
The final tip in today's article is to treat people kindly and with respect. This means treat the waitress at the restaurant, the worker in the gas station, the customer rep who provides you a service (cable, phone, catalog orders, ... everything) with respect, patience, and kindness.
Word gets around if you are difficult to deal with. Most people don't want to reward that sort of behavior with their business. So, be kind to everyone you meet and treat others with respect from the moment you meet them. You never know who will be your next client.
The real estate market has ups and downs. When it's good, buyers and sellers flock to the market. When it's down, the game changes. Newer agents who began their careers during the boom era are finding this out the hard way. Seasoned agents, on the other hand, knew that this time would come again. They know when the going gets tough, you must get creative.
Yet, much has changed over the past few decades. Technology has revolutionized the way people shop for and buy homes. How can you drum up business in a down market?
The first rule of a down market is to network. Social media sites have made certain aspects of this task more accessible. Facebook is a great way to keep in touch with local businesses, old clients, colleagues, and friends (who can turn into new clients). You're able to keep a pulse on what's happening in their lives. Who is in the market to move? Who needs more space in their home?
Twitter is another way to get your name out into the community. You could update your Twitter with weekly interest rate news, local market reports, as well as new homes you have listed for sale. Past and present clients would have direct access to your daily or weekly news feed!
Being a part of your local community is integral to networking. Volunteering and attending social functions, community gatherings, and local school events is a good way to get your face and name recognized. Real estates agents base their business on who they know.
You can also have a market presence online with an up-to-date website. Template sites or do-it-yourself sites (unless you're a professional) are not recommended. Buyers and sellers Google search for their local agents. Not having a website could mean you'll get passed over. Having an amateur website could mean the same thing. Invest a little time and money into maintaining a professional and useful website.
Useful websites include links to the most recent listings, recent advice articles or newsletters, webcasts, your background information, and local information for new residents. Give them access to local city phone numbers and locations for the DMV, hotels, and popular restaurants.
Spread the word about your website and business by carrying business cards with you at all times. These cards should be simple designs that provide your contact information, location, and website.
The final tip in today's article is to treat people kindly and with respect. This means treat the waitress at the restaurant, the worker in the gas station, the customer rep who provides you a service (cable, phone, catalog orders, ... everything) with respect, patience, and kindness.
Word gets around if you are difficult to deal with. Most people don't want to reward that sort of behavior with their business. So, be kind to everyone you meet and treat others with respect from the moment you meet them. You never know who will be your next client.
Thursday, June 23, 2011
Why Start a Blog When “Blogs are Dead”
Provided By KW Blog
“Blogs are dead.” I heard this headline in 2008 when Wired made the declaration that Facebook and Twitter had made blogs “so 2004.” Since then that headline has floated around across the blogosphere, which seems fitting. In its State of the Blogosphere, Technorati said that, although blog postings had slowed, blogs weren’t going anywhere.
No predictions have stood out to me this year, but with the popularity of “micro-blogging” on Twitter and Facebook’s similar status updates, it is no doubt that people are spending a more time on social media sites to get information. Yes, fads come and go, but we will always need quality information. Even in real estate we are seeing an increase in agents utilizing blogs instead of Websites. Blogs are essentially blurring the lines between what is a Website and a blog.
A blog isn’t a blog without quality content, so on this blog you will see posts from a variety of people at Keller Williams. Although it won’t be all real estate all the time, it will be a place for you to come and know you are hearing from some of the most talented and passionate voices in our industry. Whatever your belief – whether blogs are dead or alive, we hope that you will find this to be a great resource for educational information on our industry and an inside peek into KW.
Although I love Twitter and Facebook, I for one hope that blogs SHIFT through this ever-changing social media world and emerge even stronger.
“Blogs are dead.” I heard this headline in 2008 when Wired made the declaration that Facebook and Twitter had made blogs “so 2004.” Since then that headline has floated around across the blogosphere, which seems fitting. In its State of the Blogosphere, Technorati said that, although blog postings had slowed, blogs weren’t going anywhere.
No predictions have stood out to me this year, but with the popularity of “micro-blogging” on Twitter and Facebook’s similar status updates, it is no doubt that people are spending a more time on social media sites to get information. Yes, fads come and go, but we will always need quality information. Even in real estate we are seeing an increase in agents utilizing blogs instead of Websites. Blogs are essentially blurring the lines between what is a Website and a blog.
A blog isn’t a blog without quality content, so on this blog you will see posts from a variety of people at Keller Williams. Although it won’t be all real estate all the time, it will be a place for you to come and know you are hearing from some of the most talented and passionate voices in our industry. Whatever your belief – whether blogs are dead or alive, we hope that you will find this to be a great resource for educational information on our industry and an inside peek into KW.
Although I love Twitter and Facebook, I for one hope that blogs SHIFT through this ever-changing social media world and emerge even stronger.
Tuesday, June 21, 2011
5 Ways to Put Some Punch in Your Buyer and Seller Presentations
Provided By KW Blog
At a gathering of the KWU International Master Faculty last year, improv comedian Les McGehee told us about an icebreaker where three people volunteer to share a story about their lives. But there was a twist: Two were instructed to lie. The attendees then had to decide who was the truth-teller. Here’s the strange thing: Audiences almost always picked a bogus story. Why? Because when we share facts, we tend to believe the facts will speak for themselves. We don’t put any energy into the presentation.
This got me thinking about our buyer and seller presentations. Even though we may have a firm grasp on the market, a cold recitation the facts will probably not be enough to empower our clients to make the best decisions. Don’t get me wrong. This isn’t a license to mislead. On the contrary, we need to power up our presentations and here’s five proven ways:
1. Make it Real
Chip and Dan Heath, in Made to Stick, tell us about Art Silverman of the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) and how he communicated the evils of movie popcorn. You see, back then popcorn was cooked with coconut oil, and a medium bag had a whopping 37 grams of saturated fat (almost a two-day supply in one serving!). “The challenge, Silverman realized, was that few people know what “37 grams of saturated fat” means…And even if we have an intuition that it’s bad, we’d wonder if it was “bad bad” (like cigarettes) or “normal bad” (like a cookie or a milk shake).” So Art called a press conference and shared that ‘A medium-sized ‘butter’ popcorn at a typical neighborhood movie theater contains more artery-clogging fat than a bacon-and-eggs breakfast, a Big Mac and fries for lunch, and a steak dinner with all the trimmings—combined!” He even laid out all the food to drive his point home. Fatty popcorn became a national story, moviegoers stopped eating it and theaters were forced to offer a healthier product!
So instead of telling your buyers and sellers that home prices are down 11.4 percent, say that the average home price has dropped $32,000. That’s a number they can feel, viscerally. Buyers might just get off the fence and sellers may think twice about shooting for the moon.
2. Avoid Jargon
Jargon is not real. Many people make the mistake of employing industry jargon and acronyms to appear more knowledgeable, but most jargon tends to be unintelligible to anyone outside the industry. At my first and only corporate job, they talked about “CTB forms” which left my head spinning until I finally had to the courage to ask what they were talking about. It stood for “Call to Bob.” No lie.
So avoid jumping into discussions of absorption rates (how quickly homes sell) or cap rates (a fancy measure of cash flow) and take a moment to make sure your client will understand you. Simply put, never use a fifty-cent word when a five-cent word will do.
3. Use Visuals
You may have noticed that the books and course we write are chock full of tables, graphs, and diagrams. At heart, Gary has always been a teacher. Give him a flip chart or a white board and he can make just about anything clear. Research shows that as many as six out of ten adults are visual learners—seeing, after all, is believing.
So, instead of telling your buyers and sellers about how overpricing can lead to chasing the market down, pull out SHIFT and walk them through the graphic on page 146 or use the dialogue and images on pages 150 to 153 which can easily be drawn on a napkin.
4. Ask Questions
As sales professionals, we know the importance of asking questions and then really listening to the answer. Questions have the power to open minds, change the direction of a conversation, and provoke thought. If you are presenting market trends on a graph, ask the seller, “So when you look at this trend, what does it tell you about how we should price your house?” When we ask questions, our buyers and sellers get a chance at self-discovery.
How much more powerful would your presentations be if your sellers and markets really understood how the market works?
5. Tell a Story
So we come full circle to stories. Not the fabricated kind, but rather true stories that help us make better decisions. In The Upside of the Downturn, Geoff Colvin talks about firefighters. Researchers showed both groups pictures of a fire and then asked each to describe what they saw. The novices noted the facts anyone would notice: where the fire was burning, the color of the flames, the amount of smoke. The veterans told a story about where the fire had started, what it was doing at the time of the photo and where it was likely going to spread. Colvin’s point was this: veteran firefighters instinctively placed the facts in the context of a story. They did it to save lives because we make better, faster decisions when we base our actions on stories (which mirror our real life experiences) than we do on a collection of facts.
This is why we role-play. This is why we trumpet our success stories. This is why the best agents weave past buyer and seller experiences into their presentations.
So for your next buyer or seller appointment, try using one of these tried-and-true techniques when making an important point. It may just put some extra punch in your presentation and help your client make the right choice.
At a gathering of the KWU International Master Faculty last year, improv comedian Les McGehee told us about an icebreaker where three people volunteer to share a story about their lives. But there was a twist: Two were instructed to lie. The attendees then had to decide who was the truth-teller. Here’s the strange thing: Audiences almost always picked a bogus story. Why? Because when we share facts, we tend to believe the facts will speak for themselves. We don’t put any energy into the presentation.
This got me thinking about our buyer and seller presentations. Even though we may have a firm grasp on the market, a cold recitation the facts will probably not be enough to empower our clients to make the best decisions. Don’t get me wrong. This isn’t a license to mislead. On the contrary, we need to power up our presentations and here’s five proven ways:
1. Make it Real
Chip and Dan Heath, in Made to Stick, tell us about Art Silverman of the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) and how he communicated the evils of movie popcorn. You see, back then popcorn was cooked with coconut oil, and a medium bag had a whopping 37 grams of saturated fat (almost a two-day supply in one serving!). “The challenge, Silverman realized, was that few people know what “37 grams of saturated fat” means…And even if we have an intuition that it’s bad, we’d wonder if it was “bad bad” (like cigarettes) or “normal bad” (like a cookie or a milk shake).” So Art called a press conference and shared that ‘A medium-sized ‘butter’ popcorn at a typical neighborhood movie theater contains more artery-clogging fat than a bacon-and-eggs breakfast, a Big Mac and fries for lunch, and a steak dinner with all the trimmings—combined!” He even laid out all the food to drive his point home. Fatty popcorn became a national story, moviegoers stopped eating it and theaters were forced to offer a healthier product!
So instead of telling your buyers and sellers that home prices are down 11.4 percent, say that the average home price has dropped $32,000. That’s a number they can feel, viscerally. Buyers might just get off the fence and sellers may think twice about shooting for the moon.
2. Avoid Jargon
Jargon is not real. Many people make the mistake of employing industry jargon and acronyms to appear more knowledgeable, but most jargon tends to be unintelligible to anyone outside the industry. At my first and only corporate job, they talked about “CTB forms” which left my head spinning until I finally had to the courage to ask what they were talking about. It stood for “Call to Bob.” No lie.
So avoid jumping into discussions of absorption rates (how quickly homes sell) or cap rates (a fancy measure of cash flow) and take a moment to make sure your client will understand you. Simply put, never use a fifty-cent word when a five-cent word will do.
3. Use Visuals
You may have noticed that the books and course we write are chock full of tables, graphs, and diagrams. At heart, Gary has always been a teacher. Give him a flip chart or a white board and he can make just about anything clear. Research shows that as many as six out of ten adults are visual learners—seeing, after all, is believing.
So, instead of telling your buyers and sellers about how overpricing can lead to chasing the market down, pull out SHIFT and walk them through the graphic on page 146 or use the dialogue and images on pages 150 to 153 which can easily be drawn on a napkin.
4. Ask Questions
As sales professionals, we know the importance of asking questions and then really listening to the answer. Questions have the power to open minds, change the direction of a conversation, and provoke thought. If you are presenting market trends on a graph, ask the seller, “So when you look at this trend, what does it tell you about how we should price your house?” When we ask questions, our buyers and sellers get a chance at self-discovery.
How much more powerful would your presentations be if your sellers and markets really understood how the market works?
5. Tell a Story
So we come full circle to stories. Not the fabricated kind, but rather true stories that help us make better decisions. In The Upside of the Downturn, Geoff Colvin talks about firefighters. Researchers showed both groups pictures of a fire and then asked each to describe what they saw. The novices noted the facts anyone would notice: where the fire was burning, the color of the flames, the amount of smoke. The veterans told a story about where the fire had started, what it was doing at the time of the photo and where it was likely going to spread. Colvin’s point was this: veteran firefighters instinctively placed the facts in the context of a story. They did it to save lives because we make better, faster decisions when we base our actions on stories (which mirror our real life experiences) than we do on a collection of facts.
This is why we role-play. This is why we trumpet our success stories. This is why the best agents weave past buyer and seller experiences into their presentations.
So for your next buyer or seller appointment, try using one of these tried-and-true techniques when making an important point. It may just put some extra punch in your presentation and help your client make the right choice.
Thursday, June 16, 2011
NAR releases 2011 Investment and Vacation Home Buyers Survey, and the numbers may surprise you!
Provided By KW Blog
Recently, I was reading through The National Association of REALTORS 2011 Investment and Vacation Home Buyers Survey and I got to thinking: With the opportunities that this market is affording us, how much of the buying population is going to be investors? Let’s start with some interesting stats: Total home sales for 2010 was 5.2 Million new and existing homes, keeping close pace with 2009 sales. The beginning of the year saw a large amount of first-time home buyers in the median and below median price range, followed by a slight lull of sales after the tax credit opportunity ended, ending the year fairly strong with continued low mortgage interest rates.
None of this is really news.
What IS interesting is that investor purchases were 17% of that amount, roughly 884,000 home sales, with an average sales price of $94,000, down from $105,000 in the previous year. This is actually a smaller percentage than in years past … in 2005, investors were buying about 25% of all residential properties sold. The decline has much to do with the tightening of the mortgage requirements, and of course was influenced by the decreasing home values.
Historically, the investor has been a relatively ignored piece of the market. Some agents have considered them too much work, because they perceive that investors only want “steals”; and want commissions to be discounted; and many other unreasonable demands. Other agents have stated that investors are very “numbers”, or “models” oriented, and require a great deal more time in analyzing properties, as opposed to more emotional purchase of a typical buyer. To the first issue, NAR reports that over 50% of the investors were simply seeking to diversify their investments and saw a great opportunity in the real estate market. In other words, 50% of investors didn’t really consider themselves investors per se, just individuals seeking safe harbor for a portion of their wealth. That means approximately half of those who purchased investment properties are unskilled investors who would benefit a great deal from professional representation; and the other half are those who may buy multiple properties, have business models and speak of “ROI, and Cap Rates, etc…” Either way, they all deserve quality representation from an educated, well-informed agent. With 52% of the investors in this survey indicating they were likely to very likely to buy another property in two years or less, the opportunity is clear.
This underserviced investor market is responsible for at least $83 billion in volume last year according to NAR, with most forecasters estimating that will increase this year. Their reasoning is that since the first-time home buyers won’t be out in full force, as they were in 2010, more investment homes will be available, coupled with the fact that many consider the down turn in home prices to be over, or at least close to the bottom. With average rents going up everywhere due to the influx of renters who can no longer purchase, cash flow is almost guaranteed in every city, every property, everywhere. In essence, it’s investors heaven! The question is, what are agents going to do about this opportunity? Here are a few ideas:
1. Get Educated! Read the Millionaire Real Estate Investor by Gary Keller, to better understand the investor mind.
2. Get certified! There are a number of certifications available for the investor agent, Certified Investor Agent Specialist (CIAS) and OwnAmerica Investor Certification Program (OICP) to name two.
3. Get connected! Join your local Real Estate Investor Association (REIA) and get into community with Investors and Investor servicing networks.
Even if investor activity holds the line at 17% of the more than 5 million residential sales expected this year, there are still more than 850,000 transactions out there, just waiting for representation! Get your unfair share of the potential $2.5 billion in commissions available in the real estate investor niche market – this could be the Market of the Moment!
Recently, I was reading through The National Association of REALTORS 2011 Investment and Vacation Home Buyers Survey and I got to thinking: With the opportunities that this market is affording us, how much of the buying population is going to be investors? Let’s start with some interesting stats: Total home sales for 2010 was 5.2 Million new and existing homes, keeping close pace with 2009 sales. The beginning of the year saw a large amount of first-time home buyers in the median and below median price range, followed by a slight lull of sales after the tax credit opportunity ended, ending the year fairly strong with continued low mortgage interest rates.
None of this is really news.
What IS interesting is that investor purchases were 17% of that amount, roughly 884,000 home sales, with an average sales price of $94,000, down from $105,000 in the previous year. This is actually a smaller percentage than in years past … in 2005, investors were buying about 25% of all residential properties sold. The decline has much to do with the tightening of the mortgage requirements, and of course was influenced by the decreasing home values.
Historically, the investor has been a relatively ignored piece of the market. Some agents have considered them too much work, because they perceive that investors only want “steals”; and want commissions to be discounted; and many other unreasonable demands. Other agents have stated that investors are very “numbers”, or “models” oriented, and require a great deal more time in analyzing properties, as opposed to more emotional purchase of a typical buyer. To the first issue, NAR reports that over 50% of the investors were simply seeking to diversify their investments and saw a great opportunity in the real estate market. In other words, 50% of investors didn’t really consider themselves investors per se, just individuals seeking safe harbor for a portion of their wealth. That means approximately half of those who purchased investment properties are unskilled investors who would benefit a great deal from professional representation; and the other half are those who may buy multiple properties, have business models and speak of “ROI, and Cap Rates, etc…” Either way, they all deserve quality representation from an educated, well-informed agent. With 52% of the investors in this survey indicating they were likely to very likely to buy another property in two years or less, the opportunity is clear.
This underserviced investor market is responsible for at least $83 billion in volume last year according to NAR, with most forecasters estimating that will increase this year. Their reasoning is that since the first-time home buyers won’t be out in full force, as they were in 2010, more investment homes will be available, coupled with the fact that many consider the down turn in home prices to be over, or at least close to the bottom. With average rents going up everywhere due to the influx of renters who can no longer purchase, cash flow is almost guaranteed in every city, every property, everywhere. In essence, it’s investors heaven! The question is, what are agents going to do about this opportunity? Here are a few ideas:
1. Get Educated! Read the Millionaire Real Estate Investor by Gary Keller, to better understand the investor mind.
2. Get certified! There are a number of certifications available for the investor agent, Certified Investor Agent Specialist (CIAS) and OwnAmerica Investor Certification Program (OICP) to name two.
3. Get connected! Join your local Real Estate Investor Association (REIA) and get into community with Investors and Investor servicing networks.
Even if investor activity holds the line at 17% of the more than 5 million residential sales expected this year, there are still more than 850,000 transactions out there, just waiting for representation! Get your unfair share of the potential $2.5 billion in commissions available in the real estate investor niche market – this could be the Market of the Moment!
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