Home Inspection Services

10 Tips from 10 Experts
by Julie Escobar
www.ProspectsPLUS.com

Ten experts share their smartest survival strategies for today’s market
“The smart ones ask when they don’t know. And sometimes when they do.” Consider these wise words from Malcolm Forbes, a man who clearly knows a thing or two about surviving financial storms.
Isn’t that what we’re supposed to do when we don’t know, are facing adversity or are in over our heads? Heck, isn’t that even what we’re supposed to do to get ahead of the curve during tough times and be positioned for greatness when the tide starts to turn?
I think so, so I did. I asked: “What’s the SMARTEST thing agents can do to build their business in today’s market?” Fortunately for all of us, 10 of the top minds in the industry answered.
Here is what our special guests—Floyd Wickman, Bill Barrett, Darryl Davis, Carol Johnson, Mr. Internet®-Michael Russer, Matthew Ferry, Walter Sanford, Dave Beson, Claudia Wicks and Judy LaDeur—had to say about the smartest thing you can do to build your business now.

1. Industry icon Floyd Wickman: Well, I believe that’s a three-part formula. First, work each week (we could stop there and increase production by 38%)… on bringing in saleable listings. That means getting face to face with a seller for a listing or price reduction. Next, get all buyers and lookers into the office to be qualified, and sell them on the benefits of the office like you never have before. Last, sell in-house inventory first!

2. Industry icon Dave Beson: Focus on filling the prospect pipeline and improving your presentation so that when you get in front of a “live one,” you will win! If you aren’t pre-planning your day and including an hour or more of prospecting by phone, in person, by letter, by email, by postcard and follow up, then you’re missing the boat. I tell my audiences, “You have to be a missionary for real estate.”
The easiest thing to do is to tell a success story—just one—about a couple who kept their house or a family that WAS ABLE TO BUY because of your help. If you need to share a story with someone in the office, that’s okay. I have a letter that I suggest agents send out to everyone they know. It’s cool to follow up by phone, too, even if it’s just to leave a voice mail! Here it is:
Dear Bob and Mary,
I just reviewed my business for the year and found an amazing surprise: More than 61% of my business was past customers, referrals and repeat business.
Sure, it’s been a challenging time in real estate, but where would I be without the support of important people like you and your friends? Many thanks for telling your friends about me, and me about them.
Be sure to let me know if there is anything I can do to help you or a friend.
All the best,
Your Name
Get in touch, and stay in touch–consistently. That’s key.

3. Real estate and trends expert Bill Barrett: DO NOT CUT BACK ON YOUR BUDGET! Keep in touch with your past customers—meaning ALL of your past buyers and sellers—on a monthly basis. Superstars get 80% to 90% of their business from past customers through continuous prospecting and marketing. Consider that we’re still on track to sell four million re-sales nationwide this year. Who’s going to sell them? Certainly not the ones who “give up.” Stay in the game.

4. Noted speaker Darryl Davis: I believe the best thing about this market is that we will see a flood of buyers coming out. Sellers who were waiting in the wings to sell their houses and buyers who were sitting in the wings waiting for rock bottom all will start to move as we see our market start to inch up. Remember: The agent with the most listings WINS! If I were to gamble, I would say things will be on the upswing starting this spring. So prepare for the surge of buyers by building your listing inventory NOW!

5. Recruiting pioneer Carol Johnson: Stay in constant communication with your book of business, customer base and centers of influence. There is a market–people are buying and selling! This is a good time to make a change. It’s also a great time to develop new niche markets. Property condition is paramount right now—properties need to be in good condition, and prices have to be right. Make your listings the most compelling properties on the market!

6. Mr. Internet®, Michael Russer: I would have to say, launch your e-team. E-team members specialize and differentiate themselves by targeting a niche. 90% of agents don’t do this, which forces them to compete with everyone. Specialists know that they must always effectively answer the question, “What’s in it for me?” for every client.

7. Industry coach Matthew Ferry: For agents, I would say that they need to find that faith they had in themselves before. I’m doing a webinar for all of my clients that includes a six-point action plan to help them find the courage and strength to make 2009 their best year yet. It takes honesty—about finances, about whether this industry is the right industry, and about resentment and anger. These mindsets and energies have a very damaging effect on productivity. People know what to do, they just don’t do it. They don’t do it because of hidden negativity in their mindsets. This must be discovered and removed.
For brokers, I would have to tell them to get to the heart of each agent’s passion and purpose. Most people are focused on what doesn’t work about life right now and, consequently, draw from that energy to make decisions. This is very detrimental and will pull you further into a mental breakdown. The key is to discover the future you are committed to and get focused on that. Everyone is operating in relation to the future they are present to. If you are in despair, then you are present to a bleak future. If you are empowered, then you are present to a future that you are looking forward to. Today’s action is a function of the future.

8. Real estate expert Walter Sanford: Short and simple: “Triple (at least) your current listing inventory.” This positions you to win when the market turns.

9.Speaker and trainer Claudia Wicks: Learn online marketing and how to use the technology tools consumers are using. You need to have an online presence and, of course, develop a database of prospects. Establish relationships with more prospects than ever before. Collect email addresses; use tech tools to stay in touch automatically until they are ready to buy and/or sell, and stay in touch with past clients.
According to NAR, many agents have been in the business seven years or less. They have never known this type of market. They do not know what to do to generate business. Agents who have developed a large database of prospects, however, are not struggling. They have a steady stream of business. In this market, you need to get down to basics and build your business. That means generating prospects. You can do it by talking to everyone you know and asking for business by networking and letting everyone know it is a great time to buy. You also can do it by creating an online presence and branding yourself by marketing your own web site, blogging, joining social networks, and responding immediately to online requests for info.
Show up every day, and start working. Stay motivated by doing something nice for someone else, by talking to past clients, and by watching how you talk to yourself and not listening or “buying into” all of the negative talk. You can do it by believing in yourself
Brokers and managers, the smartest thing YOU can do is provide training and encourage new skill building for your agents. Keep them engaged in productive activities such as networking opportunities, open houses involving the entire office or office tour of homes, or showing them how to market their listings online. I’d also suggest having “call nights” where they call past clients to stay in touch. Also provide them with valuable information such as:
which price ranges are selling, list price to sales price, days on market
how to handle issues that arise at closing
how to work with appraisers to help ascertain value
what type of financing is available
good news at the office such as new listings, sales and price reductions
short sale help
foreclosure information
how to get a price reduction
how to help get a listing in good condition or staged

10. Recruiting guru Judy LaDeur: Agents, DO NOT read the newspapers, and please turn the TV off! Agents are glued to TVs and reading papers like never before, just looking for the gloom and doom. I say, “Ignore the press!” There are opportunities in every market, and the agents who are finding them are having a great year in real estate! This is a great time for apartment renters to buy homes. It also is a great time for sellers in a starter price range to move up to their dream home. Price homes correctly, and stage them well. Homes are still selling! If you have listings that are not priced and staged correctly, get rid of them!
Brokers and managers, I’d tell you to first trim the fat! That means look at your costs, and see where you can cut back. You also should look at your agents, and trim a few of those as well. Most brokers right now are carrying agents who need to be out of the business. Those agents drain your office resources and staff.
I’d also tell you that there has never been a better time to recruit! Many agents are unhappy and looking for options. The brokers and recruiters we’re coaching right now are having record-breaking recruiting years because they pick up the phone every day and talk to agents. In this market, if you are not recruiting, you will not survive!
And the last bit of advice is the same advice that I gave the agents. DO NOT read the newspapers, and turn the TV off! We are coaching several brokers who have doubled the size of their office this year by ignoring the press. If anything really bad happens, you will know about it soon enough. All of your friends who are glued to the TV will call and tell you what is going on! So stay focused, and keep moving forward!
Thanks to all of our extraordinary panelists for their extraordinary answers! When it comes to “asking” for help, you’ll find this “dream team” of experts to be a resource you can turn to and rely on every time.

Fishing in Another Stream
by Carmel Streater
www.carmelstreater.net

If your traditional stream of buyers has temporarily dried up it may be time to drop a line into another stream.
You’ve been hearing about diversity for a good while now, but if you haven’t seriously considered working with buyers from cultural groups different from your own now may be a good time to take a hard look at what’s going on in some of the less familiar portions of your market area.
If you’re thinking that sounds like work, give yourself a gold star. It takes not only work, but often a serious attitude adjustment to successfully represent buyers (and sellers!) from cultures not your own. This is true if you are a mainstream, white-bread American of European descent, but it is equally true if you belong to another cultural group and decide to try your luck with traditional consumers.
There’s a lot to learn when cultural barriers are breached by outsiders, but success doesn’t necessarily mean abdicating your personal cultural values. To the contrary, it may mean simply communicating to individuals from other cultures that you accept them and value their culture equally with your own. Ah, so easy to say; so hard to do!
Rule number one is that persons in other cultural groups can actually tell if you’re sincere in your acceptance of them. They can also tell if you’re in it strictly for the money, an attitude that doesn’t play well in any culture. You don’t have to learn a new language, but it is very important to learn what is important to buyers from different cultures. Please note that if the “from different cultures” is removed from the previous statement it becomes Real Estate Sales 101!
Think of the difference between the wish lists of first time buyers and empty nesters! The trick here is to remember that what is important to buyers may vary from culture to culture. In fact, there are actually cultures in which couples seek out properties as near as possible to their parents and/or in laws. This is not a traditional, mainstream American choice so be careful about the mother-in-law jokes, either pro or con.
You can learn a lot about different cultures from attending church services or community events in their neighborhoods and simply listening. These are learning opportunities that cost little or nothing and can literally be worth thousands to you, even if all you learn is that you and the cultural group are not a good match.
Fortunately for us, we are currently blessed with a large and widely varies number of cultural groups in this country. It’s statistically impossible for you to not find at least one culture besides your own that will accept you. As far as I know, all cultures look favorably on hard workers who want their business and will work to get and keep it.
Good luck with your ventures into your personal unknown. I’d love to hear your stories!

What is Prospecting?
by Loren Keim
http://www.c21keim.com

Many years ago, I found myself without a date for Valentine’s Day. It was February 11th and I was in my mid-20’s.

I had recently broken up with a long-time girlfriend and wasn’t sure what I wanted in a relationship. So I went to the local florist and ordered a dozen roses. I then asked the florist to send one rose to each of twelve different young women I had selected. The florist said “You’re kidding, right?” I wasn’t. That’s called prospecting. Select a target audience and let them know you have something to offer them.

In the Real Estate Industry, as in most sales professions, prospecting is a dirty word. Far too many Realtors enter the field of Real Estate believing they can wait for the phone to ring and earn an above average income if they only select a brokerage with great advertising. Most new agents, as they venture into this endeavor, expect that the company will generate leads for them. While it is true that most good real estate organizations generate some buyers and sellers from the advertising done by the company, you will not make a great living at any company waiting for the phone to ring. That is the kiss of death in the real estate industry.

Prospecting, however, is not simply picking up the phone and calling possible buyers and sellers. To be effective, prospecting must be a consistent planned process. Your goal is to create a steady flow of business into your pipeline that will result in an above average income.

Your business will build like a wave over the long term of your career if you deliver exceptional service. Starting small, it can grow to tsunami proportions as more and more of your past clients, business associates, friends and relatives refer you business. It’s a process to create those referrals, and you have to survive long enough in the industry, making a living, until you have a database of people who like and trust you that will continually feed and expand your business and client base.

There are two fundamental truths about prospecting.

The first truth is that you must prospect consistently to be successful. Set aside time each and every week to perform the task. If you don’t block out time, other stuff will get in the way. “Well, Loren, I couldn’t prospect today because I really needed to go shopping for groceries, and I had an out-of-town client, and I had this awful hangnail.” My experience with training hundreds of Realtors over the years has taught me that prospecting is the hardest part of any real estate career. The number one reason that Realtors fail in this industry is that they fail to schedule the time to find prospects. This is particularly important early in a Realtor’s career. In the long run, Realtors who deliver exceptional service receive many referrals from their clients, which limits the amount of prospecting successful Realtors need to do. However, when building a real estate business for yourself, you need to look at the various options available to seek out qualified property sellers and buyers.

The second truth is that prospecting is a process, not an event. Some real estate trainers teach Realtors to randomly pick up the phone and call people until they get an appointment. A much smarter approach is to carefully select a target market that you feel is not being serviced, or where you may find a competitive advantage, and lay out a game plan to target that audience. The game plan will include a method, or several methods, of contacting the target audience, a reason for your contact or something of value for the group you’re prospecting, and a systematic way to follow up with that group.

The Prospecting System:

There are four steps to a successful prospecting system.

1. Select Your Target Market - Determine who you want to be the recipient of your message, advertising, or direct prospecting.

2. Select Your Method of Contact - There are literally hundreds of methods of contacting prospective buyers and sellers in your marketplace. Methods may include phone calls, door knocking, emailing, mailing, and some special deliveries. Some of them are quite fun, like delivering flags or pumpkins.

3. Give Your Prospect Something of Value - The primary goal of prospecting is to identify a potential client. You want to entice a client to raise their hand and acknowledge that they may be in the market to buy or sell some time in the near future.

4. Follow Up Consistently - Once you’ve identified prospective future clients, you’ll need to begin building a relationship with them.

Again, prospecting is a process, not an event. You can hope for business, pray for business or go get business. It’s your choice!

If you aren’t filling the “Marketing Funnel” by prospecting then nothing drips out of the pipeline each month! In this economy, prospecting has become even more important to the success of your real estate business.

Ready, Set, Succeed!
by Jim Gainer
http://activerain.com/jimgainer

I’m ready for a very successful year, and I hope you are too.

Lots of things have happened in 2008, but the most important thing is that we learned from them. So let’s look at some of the best lessons from 2008…to be honest these are good lessons in any market.

Have a plan. Listings and sales don’t just walk in the front door these days. You need to decide how much business you want to do and develop a plan to go and get that much and more.

Develop an Internet marketing plan. More and more buyers are starting their search on the Internet and more and more sellers understand this. You need to have a plan for how to use home tours, social networking, property search and listing inventories to attract and generate contact information.

Don’t de-value your worth as a professional. When the going gets tough, the tough get 7% or 8% listings – because they’re tough and savvy. It’s too easy to discount your services just because the market gets a little more challenging, but I submit to you the smart homeowner wants a tough and savvy agent. I remember Floyd Wickman saying “…sellers don’t list with wimps…” Sorry if that offends, but you may be worth more than you give yourself credit for.

Consistently follow up. This is what most of your day should be filled with. High tech or low tech, what ever works is what you need. It’s hard enough to get buyers to commit, you need to be proactive and get them going at your pace. Here’s an example; on Wednesdays and Thursdays I call all my buyer clients and leads and tell them that my schedule is filling up fast, and we should go and see that listing I sent them (auto-emailed) the other day.

Sharpen your sales skills. It’s not enough today (and it never will be) to complete license school, pass the state test, and complete the required continuing education. You need to be smarter and have more exposure to new ideas than your competition to win over a tough listing appointment.

Inventory rules! And it always will. Even in a market where the inventory is piling up you want more listings. You want well priced, good looking, salable listings. Inventory brings buyer inquiries and sold inventory brings more listings! So always market the fact that you have sold something – just sold cards, or neighborhood sales updates.

These are just 6 things you should think about as you welcome 2009! I know I just scratched the surface of the topics; the last piece of advice for the New Year is find a business coach. I coach my agents through these and many more issues to ensure their success. Go make it your best year ever!

Ok, after reviewing Jim’s article, it’s hard to say which point was more important than the others. However, in talking with real estate agents all over the country, I can say that most need help with their Internet Marketing Skills. With close to 80% of home buyers and sellers looking on the net for some portion of the transaction, you can see how important having an internet marketing plan can be.

Do you have a direct response web site? Do you know what Web 2.0 is and why it’s important to your real estate business? If the answer is no, then it’s time to invest some time in an internet education class. The internet is here to stay and you can gain the need skills in no time!