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  • The 3 Most Critical Elements of Every Great Real Estate Agent

    The 3 Most Critical Elements of Every Great Real Estate Agent

    Integrity – “I care.”

    Do you lose sleep because you’re worried about your clients? Good. This means you have high integrity. 

    But integrity isn’t merely wanting to do the right thing. It’s about taking your responsibilities seriously and seeking out the knowledge and skills you need to deliver better results.

    That’s why the more knowledge and skills you have, the better you sleep!

    Knowledge – “I know.”

    Knowledge is the deep chest of information you rely upon to make informed and intelligent decisions and recommendations to your clients. 

    But knowledge doesn’t create success on its own. You need skills to fully utilize and monetize your knowledge.

    Skills – “I can.”

    Skills are how you bring everything together to accomplish more with ease and confidence. 

    A highly skilled agent with high integrity and a deep chest of knowledge, is unstoppable.

    __________

    It’s possible to have high integrity and a deep chest of knowledge but low skills.

    These agents know what their clients should be doing, but somehow they can never get the message across. As a result, they often become disillusioned with their careers.

    __________

    It’s possible to have high integrity and highly-refined skills but lack the deep foundational knowledge that those skills should be built upon.

    These agents make an excessive number of mistakes and often quit the industry out of sheer frustration, ironically, because they have high integrity.

    __________

    It’s possible to have deep knowledge and highly-refined skills but lack integrity.

    These agents focus on their own needs rather than their clients’. Despite the never-ending bluster and bravado, they’re not nearly as successful as they like to portray. They rarely get repeat business or referrals, so they need to continuously spend heavily to attract new business. As soon as they stop advertising, their business grinds to a halt.

    __________

    To become a great agent, you need all three elements:

    Integrity, knowledge, and skills.

    When you can honestly say, “I care, I know, I can,” it’s impossible not to become highly successful in Real Estate. (And you can stop chasing after low-quality “leads.”)

    The integrity part is a critical prerequisite that can’t be taught. 

    Knowledge and skills?

    The more you gain, the easier it gets.

    Wait. Is this a blatant advertisement to sell my course?

    Sort of, but actually, I’ve got an ulterior motive.

    Here’s how you can become the best REALTOR® you can be with unlimited lifetime access to the Agent Skills Master’s Program (do it at your own pace), and 100% of the proceeds go directly to support Ukrainian refugees:

    Simply click on this link: https://agentskills.com/ukraine/

    It’s the lowest price EVER offered and I don’t even want to see the money—only the charitable receipt.

    What do I get out of it? 

    The knowledge that me and you are making a real difference to people who desperately need our help.

    Have you been sitting on the fence? Now’s the time to jump off.

    On behalf of all Ukrainian refugees, THANK YOU.

  • Blowing Up the Mega Agent’s Marketing Claims

    Blowing Up the Mega Agent’s Marketing Claims

    There’s a mega-agent in every market. But I believe the public is far better served by an experienced and skilled individual agent, partnership, or small customer-service-focused team. 

    Here’s how to easily blow up the mega-agents marketing claims:

    #1 – We spend gazillions on marketing your home!

    Nice! And how exactly do you spend that money?

    Oh, you have giant billboards, hundreds of bus benches, radio and TV ads, and a fancy website, all designed to generate “leads” for your giant team?

    OK, but how exactly does that help me to market my home?

    One of your team members (who has probably never even seen my home) follows up on every inquiry, just like every other agent in the city would do?

    Um, that’s okay. 

    Next…

    #2 – We have thousands of buyers!

    Wow-za! So, if I list my home with literally any other agent in town, these thousands of buyers you have will surely all be competing to buy my property? After all, those thousands of buyers don’t really care about whose name is on the For Sale sign. Right? 

    Next…

    #3 – We sold five gazillion houses last year!

    That’s amazing! And how many agents do you have? Half a gazillion, you say? So, that’s only about ten homes per agent, then?

    Well, that’s not so impressive, is it? By the way, what is the average number of years of experience for your agents? Oh, you’re kidding. Really?

    Next,…

    #4 – We guarantee we will sell your home, or we’ll buy it!

    Fantastic! Are there any conditions?

    Oh, my home must first qualify for the program? OK, how so?

    It has to be a certain type and size and be within a certain price range and location, and basically has to be a slam-dunk sale anyway? Then I have to accept a guaranteed sale price that is so ridiculously low, no seller in their right mind would ever agree?

    That’s okay; we’re still going to hire my agent. We prefer to work with a dedicated, experienced, hard-working, skilled agent who doesn’t try to fool us with misleading marketing claims.

    By the way, I know it’s not only the Mega Agents who perpetuate bogus marketing tactics like various “Guaranteed Sale” programs. If you’re one of them, quit it, please.

    We need to work together to bring trust and integrity back to our industry. You don’t need gimmicks to become a highly successful agent. Leave the gimmicks to the Mega Agents and lets the rest of us all work together to educate the public on the truth about what really works in real estate.

  • The Bare-Bones Basics on Being an Organized Agent

    The Bare-Bones Basics on Being an Organized Agent

    Last week, I talked about Simple Skills that Make the Most Impact. 

    I’m constantly amazed at the number of REALTORS® I meet who don’t seem to realize that they’re running a business and they lack the most basic organizational skills. They just sort of get up in the morning and start reacting to whatever is going on with no specific plan.

    Does that sound familiar?

    Before I started Agent Skills, I did one-on-one training with a few local agents, and there was one incident that still sticks out in my mind. I asked my client/student to get out his calendar to block off some time for study and practice before our next meeting. Here’s what he said:

    “I don’t have a calendar.”

    What? How do you keep track of your appointments?

    “I just remember everything.”

    My jaw dropped. I stared at him with my mouth wide open for a full minute without speaking.

    I’m imagining him reading this right now and laughing out loud because he’s come a looong way since that day. At the time, he was wondering why he had no business, and now he’s hopping busy, and organized!

    Thinking about that incident, I thought I should take a step back and talk about some bare-bones basics. This is for all of you who are feeling out of control right now!

    Your To-Do List

    Whatever email platform you use, you’ve also got a calendar and a task list. These Apps all work together with each other.

    I use Gmail, but it doesn’t matter which email platform you use. For today, all I want is for you to get waaay better at keeping track of your to-do’s. ✔️

    Here is the most important organizational rule that you should implement right now:

    Stop trying to remember things!

    If you’re not already using your built-in tasks (to-do) app that works in conjunction with your email, start now. 

    Make sure you set up the app on your phone to access it with a single tap. For example, I have these four Apps in the bottom tray on my iPhone – phone, messages, email, and tasks. 

    That’s how important my Tasks App is. I need to access it with a single click because I use it all day, every day. 

    Even if I know I’m going to complete a task in 30 seconds, I add it to my Tasks List first. I’ve learned how easy it is to become distracted and forget things, so I’ve trained myself to never rely on my memory. After all, it only takes two seconds to jot the idea down. 

    I have a name for my tasks list – The Brain Clutter List. It allows me to remove all the clutter from my brain by simply writing things down. Out of the brain, onto the list. 

    This reduces stress and allows me to think more clearly, amongst many other benefits. That’s why I named my system the Clear Brain System.

    Writing down all your “to-do’s” is one thing. Next, you need to ensure you’re regularly knocking things off your list. If you’d like to learn more about how I do this, just send me an email, and I’ll send you a copy of my eBook – The Clear Brain System.

    If you want to achieve massive success in real estate, stop accepting that good enough is good enough. It isn’t.

    Learn more about the Agent Skills Master’s Program here.

    “The best investment you can make is an investment in yourself… The more you learn, the more you’ll earn.” — Warren Buffett

  • Simple Skills that Make the Most Impact

    Simple Skills that Make the Most Impact

    Last week I went off on a wild raving rant about Mega-Agents. I needed to vent a little pent-up steam, don’t you know?

    (I will reveal the reason I tend to go off on tangents within this article.)

    The week before last, I talked about The Three Pillars of Success in Real Estate (real estate skills, people skills, and business skills). Let’s continue that discussion with the most important of the three pillars—business skills.

    Did you just cringe and want to stop reading? Yeah, you’re a hot mess, aren’t you, first name?

    Haha! J.K. Actually, you’re perfectly normal. For a REALTOR®, I mean… 

    Systems and Procedures

    Here’s the #1 most important business lesson I ever learned:

    You cannot be successful in business without clear-cut systems and procedures that you follow daily.

    I learned about the importance of systems and procedures in the motorcycle parts business long before becoming a REALTOR®. But business is business, and you can’t grow any business without simple, repeatable systems and procedures.

    I learned this by trial and error through the school of hard knocks and, more importantly, following the advice of successful people I looked up to.

    Many people think I’m naturally super-organized! Haha! Fooled you all! 

    In my natural state, I’ve got severe A.D.D. However, I’ve taken steps to overcome this by implementing simple systems and procedures into my business and personal life, one simple step at a time. 

    These tools keep me focused, calm, and organized, despite my natural messy inclination.

    Other people say they’ve got A.D.D., and that’s their excuse for being a hot mess, like there’s absolutely nothing they can do about it. That’s a total cop-out. Sorry. Not sorry.

    If I can do it, so can you. Besides, I think having a little A.D.D. is actually an advantage in real estate if you know how to control it. 

    My First Day

    When I first became a REALTOR®, I had zero clients and zero prospects, but I was still as busy as a beaver building a new dam.

    With zero clients to distract me, I directed my energy towards gnawing wood and assembling the chunks into something useful that I knew I would need later. After doing all that work, when I finally landed my first client, my business took off like a rocket. 

    Hey, check out the rocket on my home page! Seriously, click on the link. Isn’t it cool?

    (Oops, there’s my A.D.D. kicking in. This happens to me all the time. Now, what the heck was I talking about?)

    Oh, right, getting organized…

    Months before I had my first client, I was implementing systems and procedures every day, building a website, building a listing presentation, and lots of other important biz stuff.

    Did I have perfect systems and procedures and an awesome website and listing presentation from day one? 

    No, they were all garbage. ️

    After all, I had no idea what I was doing. But you learn by doing, first name. 

    What I did have was a foundation to build upon, which I did by continually tweaking all my business systems and procedures every day for the rest of my career. 

    For a guy with A.D.D. and poor people skills (at first), I did pretty well by most standards. Even though it took me months to get my first client, I still earned $186,000 in commissions in my first year. After that, I earned between $590,000-$865,000 for 12 consecutive years, all as an individual agent.

    I did that without once chasing after a crappy Internet lead, by the way. In fact, I attribute almost all of that success to implementing simple business systems and procedures. 

    There’s no reason whatsoever that you can’t do the same thing if you choose to. In fact, you’ve got a massive advantage over me because you don’t need to learn all this stuff from scratch as I did.

    If you’re in business (you are) and your business skills suck (they probably do), you should quit making excuses and do something about it.

    If you want to achieve massive success in real estate, stop accepting that good enough is good enough. It’s not.

    Learn more about the Agent Skills Master’s Program here.

    “The best investment you can make is an investment in yourself… The more you learn, the more you’ll earn.” — Warren Buffett

    Ted Greenhough

    I teach GOOD REALTORS® how to become GREAT REALTORS® with a simple, logical, easy-to-follow, easy-to-implement, inspirational step-by-step program.

    AgentSkills.com

    Knowledge + Action = Skill

  • The Three Pillars of Success in Real Estate

    The Three Pillars of Success in Real Estate

    If we break down what is needed to be a great REALTOR®, each skill falls under one of these three major pillars:

    1. Real estate skills
    2. People skills
    3. Business skills

    Let’s briefly review each of the major pillars:

    Real Estate Skills

    This is the technical stuff, such as pricing, what important factors may affect the future resale value of a property, and how to effectively use your real estate-specific software and contracts.

    Aside from the art and science of pricing, real estate skills are the easiest of the three broad categories to learn. 

    Even pricing skills are not as elusive as they may seem if given the opportunity to learn from a pricing master. (We do not learn these skills in Real Estate Kindergarten.)

    People Skills

    I’ve noticed that many REALTORS® regard themselves as experts when it comes to people skills. They are then shocked to discover how little they know once they actually study and practice this subject in-depth.

    REALTORS® are often naturally outgoing and friendly, which is certainly advantageous when dealing with other outgoing, friendly types. However, without realizing it, they are often not as effective with folks who are more introverted or slower-paced, or analytical. 

    Many agents have developed the skill of mirroring their client’s communication style, but this is only the basic surface-level of understanding this topic. You need a deeper understanding of what actually motivates different personality types to be truly effective.

    Business Skills

    How organized are you? Do you have solid systems and procedures? Are you good at controlling your calendar and getting stuff done? Do you have strong presentation skills? 

    These are all business skills, and If you’re not great at some or all of them, you’re not alone. Business skills are arguably the most neglected and, in my opinion, the most important of the three pillars of success in real estate.

    Most of us become REALTORS® because we love real estate and people. That covers the first two pillars. But being a REALTOR® means, like it or not, you are a businessperson, and you need business skills.

    The irony is that business skills are easy to learn, and they can have the greatest impact, making your life much more enjoyable and productive.

    Combining Skills

    Being highly proficient at two of the pillars and not the third is like being a hockey player with amazing stickhandling and shooting skills who can’t skate. Sorry, but if that’s you,  first name, you’re never going to make it in the big leagues.

    If you truly want to make it as a professional real estate agent, you need highly refined skills from all three pillars of success. So, how can you improve?

    All successful people set aside time for self-improvement, whether that means reading, listening to audiobooks, taking courses, or joining a mastermind group. 

    If you feel inspired to improve one or all of the three pillars, I suggest you schedule a weekly one-hour recurring appointment in your calendar for self-improvement right now. Don’t put it off any longer. 

    Don’t worry about what you’re going to do in your first session. Once you’ve committed yourself (by scheduling the appointment), you’ll be surprised how your brain starts working in the background, coming up with ideas. When the time comes, if you haven’t thought of anything yet, use the time to take the 70-Skills Challenge. This is a great first step to identify your weaknesses.I guarantee that in one year from now (after 52 hours), you’ll be blown away by how far you’ve come. Just take it one step at a time, first name.

    If you want to achieve massive success in real estate, stop accepting ‘good enough.’

    Learn more about the Agent Skills Master’s Program here.

    “The best investment you can make is an investment in yourself… The more you learn, the more you’ll earn.” — Warren Buffett

    Ted Greenhough

  • Making a Positive Change

    Making a Positive Change

    And now for something a little bit different:

    Every week, The Real Agent Memo serves up a tiny appetizer from one of the 14 modules in the Agent Skills Master’s Program.

    Do I have an ulterior motive for writing this blog every week? Yes!

    I’m hoping you’ll be inspired to buy my course. After all, if I’m giving this stuff away for FREE, can you imagine how great the paid content is?

    By the way, do you know why I call my blog the ‘Real’ Agent Memo?

    It’s because I believe it’s essential to be a ‘Real’ (honest and straightforward) agent, in order to build a personally rewarding and lucrative Real Estate career.

    After my first year in business, I earned between $590,000-$865,000 every year for 12 consecutive years, all as an individual agent, without ever once making a cold call, reciting a canned script, or doing any other ‘salesy’ stuff.

    I developed the Agent Skills Master’s Program to teach you – step-by-step – exactly how I did it, and how to avoid all the mistakes I made. 

    Yes, I made a TON of costly mistakes, learning by trial and error.

    You don’t have to make the mistakes I did!

    So, what’s different about this particular Real Agent Memo?

    After serving up a tiny appetizer from each module for the past 14 weeks, I’ve decided that every 15th Real Agent Memo will be a direct pitch about exactly why YOU should fork over U.S.$997 and buy my course.

    But, as usual, I’ll just talk about one tiny bite to whet your appetite. After all, you can read all about my on-line course any time you want right here.

    The appetizer this week: Ted’s Ironclad Guarantee. Or, more specifically:

    WHY I guarantee you’ll make at least 50X the cost of the course within six months of completing it, even if you don’t do the homework.

    Yup. That’s right. 

    The way I figure it, it’s up to ME to INSPIRE you to do the homework, and if I fail to do that, it’s MY fault.

    Why am I so confident?

    1. Because inspiration is built-in to the fabric of the course. You’re going to be EAGER to do the homework because it’s obvious how it’s going to help you be a better agent.

    2. Even if you don’t do the homework, I know that merely watching the modules will change your mindset, enough to make at least an extra $50,000, anyway. If you do the homework, you’ll make WAY more.

    You know what else?

    “Homework” is not the right word. It conjures up “drudgery” and “a useless waste of time.”

    I wanted to call it, “Inspiring Activities that you can Easily and Quickly Implement into Your Existing Business and Start Seeing the Results Immediately,” but Ashton said it was too long. 

    She’s always telling me my titles are too long.

    While we’re talking about titles, here’s an interesting side note: 

    Sometimes when you’re writing, you start on a particular subject, and you end you up with something completely different. Then you go back and change the title to something more appropriate.

    When I started writing this article, it was about being in a rut, and how to get out of it, by Making a Positive Change. Then it mutated into this.

    But hey! The title still fits, so there’s no need to change it!

    Plus, by sheer coincidence, this happens to be the very first Real Agent Memo under our new brand name, Agent Skills (formerly Knowledge First).

    This is a very positive and exciting change for us, for many reasons.

    What about you? Is it time for you to make a positive change?

    If you feel like you need a kick-start to get back to the enthusiasm and excitement that you once had in your Real Estate career, check out the Agent Skills Master’s Program.

    It’s inspiring, and it’s guaranteed.

    And, here’s a cool stat that we’re proud of:

    Number of refunds issued so far because my clients didn’t make at least 50X the cost of the course: ZERO.

    For the next 14 weeks, I’ll go back to writing a tiny helpful bite from each of the 14 modules, one per week.

    A bite is nice. However, if you want the appetizer, the gourmet meal with wine, and chocolate cake and ice-cream for dessert, you know what to do.

    However, if you find yourself reading #15 again, on Thursday, December 3, know this:

    You could have completed the entire course by that date. 

    You could have been primed, ready, and INSPIRED to make 2021 your greatest year ever. 

    Make a Positive Change.

  • The Case Against Hiring a Real Estate Coach

    The Case Against Hiring a Real Estate Coach

    My competitors produce tons of top-notch quality content. I’m a big fan! I listen to their podcasts regularly for inspiration.

    However, the massive volume of information can be completely overwhelming.

    Have you ever thought to yourself, “I’d love to learn more and get more organized, but how in the heck am I supposed to know where even to start? Maybe I should get a coach.”

    Wait a sec…

    Do you think maybe there’s a connection here?

    You feel overwhelmed and inadequate because you can’t make sense of the blizzard of information spewing forth from the famous trainer-guy.

    So, now you’re paying $10,000 a year for a weekly chitty-chat with one of his coaches.

    Hmmm…

    Hey, it’s not like a coach can’t help you. Of course, they can!

    It’s just the main reason given for having a coach that irks me.

    “They keep me accountable.”

    Accountable for what?

    “For making my calls every day.”

    Quick question. Do you like making those calls?

    No? Then why do you force yourself to do things you HATE just because on Monday, your coach is going to ask, “How many hours a day did you do the thing that you HATE?”

    Doesn’t that add more stress to your life?

    Also, did you become a professional REALTOR® because you secretly really wanted to be a telemarketer?

    I’m not disputing that being a “phone prospector” is one way to make a living as a professional REALTOR®.

    It is. If you’re skilled at it and exceptionally disciplined. I have friends who are stars at prospecting, and they make a very comfortable living. I admire them for it. It’s just not for me.

    The way I see it, you need to make a choice.  Do you want to chase cold leads every single day, or would you rather become a client magnet?

    You can’t do both.

    Why? Because if you spend 2-3 hours every day chasing cold leads, there’s not enough time left in your day to create a business that attracts clients.

    Chasing becomes a never-ending grind.

    It’s a vicious circle. You pay the money to the coach to hold you accountable to do the thing you hate, so you can make money to pay the coach.

    Ugh…

    Guess how many cold calls I made in my Real Estate career?

    One.

    I made the call, hung up the phone and swore, “I’m never doing that again.”

    I figured out a better way. It was a struggle at first. After all, I started my career the same way as you did, with zero prospects and no idea what to do about it. I was three months in before I completed my first transaction, and that was a sympathy listing from a friend.

    But I kept at it and by the end of my first year, my plan was working and I was on a roll. From my second year on, I earned between $590,000-$865,000 for 12 consecutive years, all as an individual agent.

    Don’t let anyone ever tell you there’s only one way to become successful in Real Estate, and that’s by getting a coach to keep you accountable to make your calls…

    You have other choices. Here’s how I did it.

    Embedded inside the program is all the encouragement, inspiration, and accountability you will ever need from a coach.

  • How to find the Best Service Providers in Real Estate

    How to find the Best Service Providers in Real Estate

    In last week’s blog post, we talked about how every team member and service-provider you have is a direct reflection on YOU.

    Now, let’s talk about how to build a list of the best service providers and why this is so important.

    Being able to say, “I’ve got a guy for that” can be an instant problem solver that keeps things moving forward.

    For example, you’re out looking at homes with your buyers, and you find a property in the exact location they want. It has an ideal floorplan, and it’s priced right. There’s only one issue: The colors are entirely outdated.

    Your clients see this as a big problem. The thought of moving in and then having to repaint everything seems like way too much hassle. They want to keep looking. That’s when you chime in:

    “I’ve got a guy for that. My painter can paint the entire house for less than $5,000, and he can get it done before you move in. Let’s see if we can negotiate the price down a bit more to cover the cost.”

    Problem solved. You arrange the timing with your painter and negotiate the deal. Your buyers move into their beautiful, freshly painted home, and they’re thrilled!

    Now, let’s consider a situation with potential sellers. They want to list, but they need to make numerous repairs first. It seems like a big hassle, and they’re hesitant to move forward.

    “I’ve got a guy for that. And that. And that.”

    You make the connections, the work gets done efficiently and inexpensively, and the home gets sold quickly for a high price.

    Who’s the hero?

    YOU are, my friend. YOU are the solver of problems.

    So, where do you find all these “guys”?

    Simple. Ask your friends. Ask other agents. Put it out there in a social media post. Make it a habit to continually add to and refine your trades list.

    Remember, you’re looking for quality people. They’ve got to be great at what they do, but they also need to be prompt, polite, and pleasant. Don’t randomly add just anyone to your list!

    Remember, Your Brand is Your People!

    That said, there could be an exception to this rule. For example, I had a guy who was the world’s greatest carpet cleaner. He was the best and also the cheapest, which is a rare combination. But, he barely spoke English, and let’s just say he wasn’t the most pleasant person.

    So, I would tell people straight-up, “He’s the best carpet cleaner I’ve ever seen, but he barely speaks English, and he’s not the most pleasant fellow you’ve ever met! If you can live with that, I guarantee you’ll be thrilled with the job he does.”

    When you tell people the truth up-front, they know what to expect, and therefore it’s not an issue. My clients would joke with me afterward, “Hey, you weren’t kidding about that guy, Ted! He’s tough to talk to! But, he did an amazing job. Thank you!”

    My friend, great REALTORS® are problem solvers.

    More problem solving next week when we talk about The Great Negotiator!

  • Do you want to LIST? Or do you want to SELL?®

    Do you want to LIST? Or do you want to SELL?®

    The title of this blog post is a registered trademark owned by me, which means you CANNOT legally use it (or any similar phrase) in your advertising. ‍

    I registered this trademark many years ago because it perfectly describes a fundamental difference in values from one agent to the next.

    Do you care more about yourself, and how many commission checks you can accumulate?

    Or do you care more about delivering the best possible result for each client? ☺️

    If you care more about yourself, it’s better if your listings don’t sell too quickly, right? After all, “inventory” is useful! Sometimes a single listing can be used to generate multiple commission checks as a “lead-generator.” We know this. The public does not.

    This is why it can be tempting to accept over-priced listings. The chances are high that you’ll generate at least one other commission check as a result of the listing, even if it doesn’t sell! And hey! You can always work on getting the price in line later, right?

    I always found this philosophy to be not only dead-wrong on so many levels but also short-sighted. Even when I was earning well over $800K in commissions, I very rarely had more than 5-6 listings. During the few times in my career, when I had ten or more, I found it extremely stressful. Why?

    Because my clients were counting on me! They didn’t hire me to accumulate “inventory.” They hired me to get their home SOLD for the highest possible price and within a reasonable time frame.

    So, that’s what I did. I put my heart ❤️ and soul into every listing, and I got them sold quickly and efficiently.

    My clients were thrilled with me, and word got around, like wildfire. THAT’s why I never had to worry about where the business was coming from. I always had a never-ending stream of referrals.

    Here’s the thing. I never cared or paid attention to the commission checks. I cared and paid attention to doing a great job. The commission checks took care of themselves.

    That’s why you’ll see this famous quote at the end of my email signature:

    “Try not to become a person of success.  Instead, try to become a person of value.”  – Albert Einstein

    If you agree with this philosophy, you’re going to love the AGent Skills Real Estate Master’s Program.

    It’s for high-integrity agents only. The rest of you won’t like it.

  • *Numerous Ridiculous Conditions Apply

    *Numerous Ridiculous Conditions Apply

    Our industry is ubiquitous with misinformation around marketing.

    The absolute worst form of misleading advertising—in my opinion—are some of the “Guaranteed Sale” programs offered by various brokerages across North America.

    In every “Guaranteed Sale” contract I’ve ever seen, only the most easily saleable homes “qualify” in the first place.

    Even if your home does qualify and you agree to the “numerous ridiculous conditions,” the bottom-line guaranteed price (after all deductions) will be so stupidly low, that hardly anyone in their right mind would ever agree to the terms.

    Almost everyone reading this already knows that these programs are essentially “bait and switch” schemes. The primary purpose is to get in front of potential sellers, and then convince them that they don’t need the program, anyway.

    “Oh, sorry, your home doesn’t qualify due to the lengthy list of ridiculous conditions. Darn!

    But no worries! We’ll get your home sold, anyway! Sign here, please,” said the Salesy Slickster. ✍️

    They get around the laws against illegal “bait and switch” tactics because technically it is a “legitimate” and legally-binding program, assuming there is a homeowner somewhere (?) who would accept the ridiculous terms.

    Real Estate is also the only industry on the planet where the biggest advertisers brag about how much they spend, “We spend thousands… tens of thousands… hundreds of thousands… on marketing every month!”

    The implication is that they’re spending all this money on marketing your property, which we all know is more nonsense.

    Tell me, please: How exactly do I benefit from your billboard, radio or TV ad, bus bench, or practically any other form of Real Estate advertising?

    There’s absolutely nothing wrong with promoting yourself and your services! Just don’t imply that the money you’re spending is for my benefit, thank you very much.

    Can you imagine if other industries did this? “Here at Ford, we spend millions advertising ourselves every month. Therefore, you should buy a Ford!”

    How stupid does that sound?

    So how are you supposed to compete with the Big-Box Teams and Celebrity Agents who spend kajillions on advertising?

    Easy!  Just tell the truth, my friends. See above.

    If you run a successful Real Estate business where almost all your business comes from repeats and referrals, now THAT’s something to brag about!

    Don’t listen to anyone who tells you that the only way to run a successful Real Estate business is to spend kajillions on misleading advertising, learn mindless scripts, and chase after poor-quality Internet leads.

    That’s just more nonsense.