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  • The Price Adjustment Approach and Why It Sucks

    The Price Adjustment Approach and Why It Sucks

    We all learned how to evaluate a property in ‘Real Estate School’ using the Price Adjustment Approach. It works great in the textbooks.

    Not so much in the real world.

    Over time, I developed my own evaluation system that makes waaaaay more logical sense to both myself and my clients, The Big Picture CMA.

    This system takes up an entire module in the Master’s Program, but the information is actually spread across three modules: Setting the Stage, the Big Picture CMA, and Pricing Psychology.

    It’s not complicated. It’s just not possible to fully comprehend it within the confines of a tiny blog post. You know what they say about a little bit of knowledge being dangerous.

    However, I will explain why I believe that the price adjustment approach is not particularly useful in the real world.

    Pricing is an Art and a Science

    There’s no way that anyone can accurately predict the future sale price of a property. There are way too many moving parts at play, including that it’s impossible to know when and where the perfect buyer might appear.

    We play the averages, and those of us who are skilled and experienced can get closer to the price than those of us who are unskilled and inexperienced. 

    But it’s still an educated guess, at best.

    It’s not reality that you can dump all the data into a giant spreadsheet and out pops the exact sale price. Engineers and accountants hate this fact! But you’re doing them a disservice to suggest anything otherwise.

    That’s why I dislike the price adjustment approach to valuation. It’s too exact.

    The Blank Stare

    Other agents used to pop their head into my office all the time and ask me pricing questions.

    “Hey, Ted. Most of the houses in this neighborhood have double-car garages, but this one has a triple. How much should I adjust for that?”

    I’d stare at them with a blank face and say nothing while thinking, “How the hell should I know?”

    To me, this was like giving me one piece of a jigsaw puzzle and asking how I liked the complete picture.

    To provide a reasonable answer, I’d ask approximately 1,000 questions about the property, the neighborhood, the comparables, the target buyer, etc. Then I’d give a general overview of how important I thought the triple-car garage might be considering all the other factors. I never provide an exact number, which is what they wanted.

    Those agents never poked their head in my office ever again. I guess my system sounded complicated (?).

    It’s not, actually. But it’s like not understanding a sport until you know all the rules; then it makes perfect sense.

    Once you understand The Big Picture CMA’s core logic that I teach in the Master’s Program, it’s actually a much more sensible way to look at things. From your perspective and your clients’.

    Why Argue About It?

    One of the problems I have in using the price adjustment approach is that you open yourself up to an argument with your clients over every single line item.

    I think the triple-car garage is worth this much.

    “Are you serious? It’s worth way more than that!”

    Argue all you want. Right or wrong, you’ve already lost credibility with this client, and they’re probably not going to hire you.

    This doesn’t mean that I don’t talk about the pros and cons of every comparable and every major feature. I do! 

    Just like a recipe, I show them all the ingredients, mix them together, and skillfully guide them towards the most logical starting list price.

    And, I prepare them ahead of time to adjust quickly, in case the recipe doesn’t turn out as well as we hoped.

    It’s all about using the right ingredients.

    Learning The Big Picture CMA is one way to create a raving fan base and build a business that thrives on a never-ending stream of incoming referrals. This is the foundational doctrine of the Agent Skills Master’s Program.

    This article was inspired by module #10 – The Big Picture CMA – part of the Agent Skills Master’s Program. 

    In ‘The Big Picture CMA,’ I explain step-by-step how to use the Criteria Manipulation Approach (CMA) to quickly determine the correct price for any property, efficiently and with full agreement from your sellers.

    Here’s another article inspired by the same module: The Target Buyer.

  • The Essentials of a Pre-Listing Package

    The Essentials of a Pre-Listing Package

    I’ve seen some elaborate pre-listing packages; fancy-bound booklets full of colorful charts and graphs, lists of awards, etc.

    Impressive! 

    I guess that’s the idea. To impress.

    But isn’t that what the listing presentation is for?

    What if you’ve got the greatest pre-listing package in the world, and you suck at the listing presentation?

    Do you think anyone’s going to say, “Well, he’s kind of an idiot, but that pre-listing package! Wow-za!”

    Not likely.

    The listing presentation itself is about 1000 X more important than your pre-listing package. Knowing this is true, it’s a total waste of your limited time creating an elaborate pre-listing package, compared to improving and practicing your actual listing presentation.

    “But it saves time at the appointment!”

    I think not. ⏱️

    1. How many of your potential clients actually take the time to read your elaborate pre-listing package? I mean, they know you’re coming over anyway, right?

    2. Do you still think that people care about all your rewards and previous accomplishments? They don’t. They care about what you’re going to do for them. Now. And you’re going to need to show them that in person.

    3. How many listing appointments do you get every year? You’ve spent a lot of time, energy, and probably cold hard cash to finally arrive at the kitchen table, ready to present. Is it really your highest priority to now burn through the appointment as quickly as possible? 

    The Essentials

    I send two things ahead of my listing appointment, both by email.

    1. A Pre-Presentation letter — It’s about half a page long and contains the most important information I will need from them for the appointment, as well as a  brief outline of what we will discuss. It’s designed to create excitement and anticipation, and people actually read it because it’s short.

    2. The Sold Listing data — This is a big subject in the Master’s Program, so it’s impossible to get into detail in a short blog post, but sending the right sold listing data is the biggest time saver there is. It also eliminates the most significant cause of stress in your entire listing presentation.

    What about a Buyer Package?

    Remember, we’re in a relationship-based business. Spend your time building relationships, asking the right questions, explaining to your clients what they should expect when it comes to writing an offer, and all the other important things you should be discussing with them during a buyer-client meeting.

    Instead of a written Buyer Package, build a checklist of items that need to be discussed with your buyer, whether that’s at a formal buyer-client meeting, in between showings, or over the phone.

    If you try to put this information into a fancy booklet, you’re removing the opportunity to build trust and rapport with your client. Besides, they’re not going to read it, anyway!

    Never forget. You’re building relationships. You build relationships by having discussions — not writing “How-To” guides. 

    New! Rate your current REALTOR® skills with the 70-Skills Challenge

    This article was inspired by module #9 – Setting the Stage – part of the Agent Skills Master’s Program. 

    In ‘Setting the Stage,’ I explain step-by-step how to ask the right questions and ensure you are confident and thoroughly prepared before your listing appointment. Create strong anticipation and eliminate the most significant cause of anxiety – the price – before you arrive.

    Here’s another article inspired by the same module: The Simple Business Tracker Spreadsheet.

  • Habit-Forming Routines – The Key to Creating Credibility Consistently

    Habit-Forming Routines – The Key to Creating Credibility Consistently

    A Routine is something that you do on a regular basis, such as your grocery shopping every Friday or paying your bills on the second Thursday of every month.

    Introducing Routines into your work-life is a powerful habit-forming technique to ensure you get all your important work done consistently.

    For example, let’s say you commit to sending an Activity Report to all your listing clients every Monday morning. If you want to maintain credibility and build trust, you must stick to your planned routine.

    You can’t just do it sometimes!

    You can’t just sluff it off to Tuesday or Wednesday one week because you got busy. You’ve trained your clients to expect that report every Monday morning! 

    When you make a commitment, you lose credibility when you don’t live up to it.

    But how do you ensure you stick to your pre-set Routines?

    The Rules

    In The Clear Brain System, I talk about the importance of abiding by a set of self-imposed rules.

    “EVERY successful person in the world follows a set of personal self-imposed rules designed to maximize their personal productivity.”

    One of my rules is that I treat every ‘Appointment with Myself’ with equal importance to how I treat an ‘Appointment with my Best Client.’

    What’s an Appointment with Myself? 

    It’s a task that is time-sensitive. If I don’t get it done as part of the Ready Go List in my Clear Brain System, I must now move that task to my calendar and assign a certain day and time to complete it.

    Once a task is on my calendar, I have no choice but to do that task when it is assigned. Why? 

    Because of the self-imposed rules that I’ve assigned to myself to ensure I get stuff done.

    What about you?

    Let’s say you’ve got any one of these three appointments at 3:00 pm this afternoon.

    1. A Listing Appointment
    2. A Dentist Appointment
    3. A Coffee Appointment to chat with your #1 client and best referral source

    Now, it’s 11:00 am, and you get a call from a buyer wanting to see a property at 3:00 pm. Would you cancel any of these appointments above to accommodate that buyer?

    Of course not! You would simply tell the buyer that you’ve already got an important appointment at that time, and you’d work out a different time. Right?

    But what if your 3:00 appointment was an Appointment with Yourself? What would you do?

    I’m guessing you would say, “no problem!” and you’d book the appointment for 3:00 with your buyer. You’d tell yourself you can do that thing you had booked with yourself another time.

    You must stop doing this! Right now!

    Start treating yourself with the same level of respect as you treat others.

    Simply treat the Appointment with Yourself like any other important appointment. Tell your buyer client you’re already booked, and figure out a different time to show the property.

    This is not rocket surgery!

    What about Routines?

    A Routine is simply a recurring Appointment with Yourself. Every Routine has a specific day and time when it gets done. 

    Like this blog post, for example. I’m writing this on Monday morning because that’s my routine. I never have to think about what I’m doing on Monday morning because I know that I’m writing my blog post right after my Morning Routine, which is this:

    1. Review and respond to messages
    2. Review my calendar for today and the upcoming week
    3. Review my Clear Brain System

    By the way, do you remember the last time I skipped a week on my blog post? 

    Me neither.

    Routines are powerful and habit-forming.

    So what about that weekly Activity Report to your seller clients? 

    Time to adopt some Rules and Routines. 

  • The Clear Brain System – Step One in Creating a Raving Fan Base

    The Clear Brain System – Step One in Creating a Raving Fan Base

    Dear readers: When I write this weekly blog, my routine is to cycle through the Master’s Program modules for inspiration. This week, I’m on Module #8, ‘Generating Referrals.’ 

    At the same time, I’m producing version 2.0 of our first two modules, and I’ve flipped the order. Module #1 is now:

    The Clear Brain System – The Ridiculously Simple Way to Become Super-Organized in One Day

    So, I’m staring at the new module’s script, and suddenly, it hits me. I’ll simply copy the opening monologue into this week’s blog!

    But what does being Super-Organized have to do with Generating Referrals?

    Read on and you’ll understand!

    The Clear Brain System

    We’re in a business where it’s easy to become overwhelmed with the sheer volume of details that need to get done every day.

    When you’re overwhelmed, you make mistakes, forget important details, and worst of all, you’re more easily distracted, and your ability to concentrate is diminished.

    There are 100 little details to take care of in every Real Estate transaction, and if you mess up one, guess what your client remembers about their experience with you?

    You might think that one small mistake was no big deal, but if it’s the only thing that prevents your client from becoming a raving fan, it’s a very big and costly problem.

    Even if you don’t make a mistake, merely being competent will not be enough to create a raving fan in most cases.

    Being Competent vs. Being Amazing

    Let’s say you go to a store, you find what you’re looking for quickly, and you buy it.  You’ve got nothing to complain about in terms of the service you received.  However, you’re completely unaware of that store’s logistical and hiring practices, which are the foundational reasons you had a good experience.

    You’re satisfied with the service you received but was that enough for you to get on the phone and tell all your friends they must shop at that store from now on? Not likely.

    It’s the same in Real Estate. The public isn’t aware of 75 out of the 100 details you handle when completing a Real Estate transaction. They see 25 details which you handled competently. Is that enough to turn your client into a raving fan? 

    Nope. People don’t recommend you for being competent. They recommend you because you’re amazing. 

    And, they recommend you because it makes them look good.

    That’s why you need to do 125 little things. You do more. You do better. You do things that nobody else does. That’s how you differentiate yourself.

    Building a Raving Fan Base

    As a professional REALTOR®, building a raving fan base should be your #1 career goal. After all, when you have a never-ending stream of incoming referrals, this business gets a whole lot easier and way more fun!

    That’s the central theme of my entire course; building a business where you are so awesomely skilled that you quickly build a team of fans who are continually raving about you and sending you referrals.

    But no matter how sincere you are about delivering exceptional service, creating a raving fan base is impossible to achieve if you don’t first have outstanding organizational skills.

    Here’s the good news: No matter how messy you are right now, becoming super-organized is not difficult or tedious. It’s the opposite of that. It’s easy and liberating. All you need is a simple system to follow.  

    That’s why I developed the Clear Brain System, specifically for REALTORS®.

    If you’d like to learn more, click here.

  • Presenting to Analyticals – 7 Tips to Reduce the Pain

    Presenting to Analyticals – 7 Tips to Reduce the Pain

    News Flash! On Tuesday, I had an article published on Housing Wire – ‘In Defense of the Individual Real Estate Agent’. It’s a unique post (not part of my regular blog). Check it out here.

    Presenting to Analyticals

    If you’re a Driver, Expressive, or Amiable, working with an Analytical can be exasperating.

    Drivers understand the need for data, but why does the Analytical ask so many questions and take so long to process information?

    Amiables can relate to taking time to process information, but why does the Analytical seem so unfriendly and overly obsessed with facts and figures?

    Expressives? They’re the polar opposite of the Analytical. They drive each other nuts!

    However, as REALTORS®, we need to learn how to communicate effectively with all different communication styles.

    Having a deep understanding of what makes others ‘tick’ opens up a whole new world of possibilities and makes it easier to accomplish more with less frustration.

    7 Tips to Reduce the Pain

    The Analytical is more introverted than extroverted, and they value data more than they value relationships when it comes to making business decisions. 

    1. You need plenty of information. But this is NOT a case of “the more, the better.” It’s way too easy to overwhelm an Analytical into Analysis-Paralysis. 

    2. If you’re doing a market analysis, stick to demonstrating supply, demand, and absorption rate. In other words, go deep on the important stuff, and avoid the unimportant.

    3. Be prepared to spend plenty of time discussing the “hows and whys” of the data being presented. This means you need to understand it thoroughly.

    4. Provide plenty of information about comparable properties, but again, be careful to guide your Analytical client so they don’t go too far down a rabbit hole looking for answers that aren’t there. 

    It’s easy for an Analytical to draw false conclusions from either too little or too much data. They’re searching for logical conclusions in what we know is often an illogical “science.”

    5. Be patient!  Allow your Analytical client to indicate when they are ready to proceed. If you rush the process, you’re not doing them (or you) any favors.

    6. Don’t waste time chitty-chatting and telling stories (unless your stories are about facts and figures). Analyticals care more about data than they do about being your friend. 

    The Analytical will hire whoever they think understands the data the best—not who they want to party with the most. (They definitely do not want to party with you, Expressives!)

    7. Analyticals often have great difficulty making decisions. You can help by simplifying things. For example, try the trial offer, where you write out only the most important components of an offer on a blank piece of paper, rather than handing them an entire complicated contract. One step at a time.

    Learning About all Four Communication Styles

    If you read those seven points above and you still cringe at the thought of working with Analyticals, that’s because I can’t provide all the information you need to become highly skilled at this critically important topic, in a tiny blog post.

    You need to study this subject more. The more skilled you become, the fewer times your head will explode.

    Only about 25% of your fellow humans communicate the same way you do. This means we all need to learn to deal more effectively with the other 75% if we want to succeed in our relationship-based business. 

    When you set your mind to study and practice communication skills (the opposite of sitting around thinking about it), it’s entirely possible to turn what seems like drudgery into a challenging but enjoyable exercise of your knowledge and skills.

    The good news is we all have traits from all four styles deep within us. You just need to learn how to access those traits and bring them to the surface when necessary.

    I’m not trying to sales-pitch you into taking my course just because one of the modules is on Communication Styles. If you’re not ready to take the plunge yet, that’s okay!

    You can learn a ton about this subject for FREE on the Internet. I suggest you do that. It’s one of the most important skills you can learn.  

    By the way, if any of you Analyticals have taken offense at this article, know this: 

    I’m one of you! 

    Whether you are an Analytical or one of the other three styles, it’s important to understand yourself as much as it is to understand others.

    New! Would you like to rate your current REALTOR® skills? Check out the 70-Skills Challenge

    This article was inspired by module #7 – Communication Styles – part of the Agent Skills Master’s Program. 

    In ‘Communication Styles,’ I explain step-by-step how to quickly identify a person’s preferred communication style (Driver, Analytical, Amiable, or Expressive), gain a deep understanding of your own style, and massively improve your communication skills with everyone.

    Here’s another article inspired by the same module: Communicating with Couples.

  • The #1 Fastest Way to Increase Skill and Confidence

    The #1 Fastest Way to Increase Skill and Confidence

    We all know someone who is overflowing with confidence for no apparent reason. There’s a psychological term for this — “unwarranted self-confidence.” 

    These types seem to be able to survive on sheer confidence alone! Why is that?

    It’s because people are attracted to self-confidence. One assumes that if a person is extremely confident, they must know their stuff. Right?

    The problem is that the more you get to know this person, the more you realize that their self-confidence is the only thing they’ve got going for them.

    In Relationship Selling (module #6), I teach how to find the right balance of Professionalism, Confidence, Friendliness, and Authenticity. You need all four.

    But let’s talk about the confidence part, for now.

    If you often feel under-confident, it’s probably because you’re smart enough to know that your skills could be better. That’s why you’re reading this right now.

    Sadly, people with unwarranted self-confidence don’t see the need to improve their skills.

    But you? Improving your skills is the quickest way to greater self-confidence.

    Confidence, combined with highly-refined skills, is a compelling mixture in a relationship-based business, such as Real Estate.

    To improve your skills (and confidence), I recommend the Deep Practice Method. 

    For example, let’s say you’ve developed a fabulous new listing presentation. Now you need to learn to deliver it with polish and confidence. Here are the steps you need to take:

    The Deep Practice Method

    1. Schedule a day and time for your practice session. A one-hour session of Deep Practice is enough to accomplish a lot.
    2. Shut off ALL distractions. 
    3. Practice only a small portion at a time.
    4. Speed up, slow down, and be cognizant of your intonations.
    5. Continue concentrating and practicing until you can feel it in your bones.
    6. Move on to the next section, and repeat.

    Deep Practice is the quickest, easiest, and most effective way to improve your skills and confidence.

    But Deep Practice is a skill unto itself. For most of us, just learning to shut off distractions is a massive challenge.

    “The enemy of Mastery is not mediocrity. It is distractions. The addiction to distractions ruins many potentially awesome lives.” — Robin Sharma.

    If you recognize that distractions are a problem for you, you’ve got two great reasons to adopt the Deep Practice Method.

    1. To learn the skill, and;
    2. To practice working without distractions.

    You’ll be lousy at it, at first, just like any new skill. But don’t worry!

    The more you practice, the better you’ll get at blocking out distractions, and the quicker you’ll get at learning new skills. That’s how practice works!

    It’s worth it. The skill of learning how to concentrate will take you a long way on its own. And once you’ve got that skill, it’s only a matter of time before you’ll be swaggering around with (warranted) self-confidence. That’s the good kind.

    That’s the kind of self-confidence that changes lives.

    New! Would you like to rate your current REALTOR® skills? Check out the 70-Skills Challenge

    This article was inspired by module #6 – Relationship Selling – part of the Agent Skills Master’s Program. 

    In the ‘Relationship Selling’ module, I explain step-by-step how to attract more clients with the correct balance of professionalism, confidence, friendliness, and authenticity. If you’re weak on any one of these attributes, it could be severely affecting your potential. Luckily, this is easy to fix by learning a few simple skills. 

    Here’s another article inspired by the same module: NOT Being a Salesperson

  • How to Partner with your Buyers and Win More Negotiations

    How to Partner with your Buyers and Win More Negotiations

    You’ve been working hard with Sam and Suzy Buyer for months. Finally, you find the perfect house, and it’s listed at a great price!

    There’s only one problem…

    Sam and Suzy want to write a low-ball offer.

    Try as you might, they insist, you write it, the Listing Agent laughs in your face, the deal goes nowhere, and…

    The house sells the next day to someone else for the full asking price.

    You’re frustrated and angry with Sam and Suzy.

    Well, you might as well go ahead and fire them because you’re never going to find them another house that good for that price.

    But this situation is not their fault. It’s your fault.

    Yes, you must follow your clients’ lawful instructions. But you’re not a robot.

    You’re a highly-skilled (human) expert advisor, right?

    So, here’s how you — the expert — can ensure the above situation never happens:

    1. Ensure the buyers understand how the negotiation process works, long before you ever get to this stage. Ideally, this is part of your formal Buyer’s Meeting, but at the very least, you discuss it over the phone or in-person early on in the relationship.

    2. Explain that the offer depends on the property’s true value, not the list price. This means that a low-ball offer might be warranted sometimes, but if it’s a well-priced property, they need to recognize the opportunity and be willing to offer close to asking.

    3. Ensure you’re not dealing with flakey-flakes. If you are, fire them and move on. Honestly, who has the time to waste on flakey-flakes?

    4. Partner with your clients to earn their cooperation and respect. See below:

    Partnering with your clients:

    When you’re ready to write an offer, determine the best negotiation strategy, and discuss it openly with your clients. This makes them feel part of the process, improving the likelihood of a successful conclusion.

    Lay out all the possible repercussions of whatever strategy you are recommending.

    “Here’s my plan, here are all the possible responses we might get, and here’s what I suggest we do in each different scenario.”

    The more you tell them, the less stuck they might feel when you hit an impasse and need to re-evaluate your strategy. After all, you’ve already anticipated every possible scenario,

    I’m always gobsmacked at the number of agents who haven’t got a clue about how to negotiate a deal. 

    How do they even survive?

    The biggest rookie mistake? Giving up too easily.

    Second biggest? Thinking they’re doing their clients a favor by acting belligerent.

    Successful agents know that the sellers want to sell, and the buyers want to buy. A successful negotiation is a cooperative process, not an adversarial one. 

    Most of all, successful agents know the importance of educating their clients well ahead of time and partnering with them during the negotiation.

    This article was inspired by module #5 – Working with Buyers – part of the Agent Skills Master’s Program. 

    In the ‘Working with Buyers’ module, I explain step-by-step how to establish a solid foundation for your buyer-client relationships, tactfully control the buying process, and minimize wasted time. Stop being a door opener and start earning the respect you deserve as a highly-skilled expert advisor.

    Here’s another article inspired by the same module: Ten Tips for Working with Builders

  • How to Stop Tossing Business Out the Window in 2021 (and yes, you are)

    How to Stop Tossing Business Out the Window in 2021 (and yes, you are)

    Happy New Year! Are you planning how to get more business in 2021?

    Of course you are. Me too! 

    But what if I told you this?

    If you just did a way better job on The Follow-Up, you could stop chasing after new business, altogether. 

    I’m not just making this stuff up, you know. 

    Being skilled at The Follow-Up is one of the main reasons 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.

    It’s also why I consider ‘The Follow-Up’ one of the most important modules in the entire Agent Skills Master’s Program.

    For starters, do you even have a proper system to keep track of your leads?

    I’m completely shocked by the number of REALTORS® who have no system whatsoever. I mean beyond sending them an email and hoping they email you back. And if they don’t, you basically forget about them.

    How about starting tomorrow (it’s a New Year after all), you write down every lead you get in a simple spreadsheet? 

    Just write them down, name, contact info, what you talked about on what date. That’s it.

    You know what’s going to happen? At the end of the month, you’re going to look at your spreadsheet and you’re going to be shocked at the number of solid prospects you have!

    What the heck happened? How come you never had this many leads before?

    You did. You’ve been tossing them out the window.

    Relying on your memory is for amateurs.

    You think I had more leads than you did when I was selling over 100 homes a year?

    I doubt that very much.

    I just knew how to convert my prospects into clients.

    I knew how to keep track of them, how often to contact them, which contact method to use (they’re all different), what information to give them, and how to ensure they responded.

    I knew how to nurture my leads. 

    It’s not hard. It’s a simple skill.

    All the skills I teach are ridiculously easy. That’s the point. Complicated systems don’t work.

    Here’s to a fabulous 2021!

    This article was inspired by module #4 – The Follow-Up – part of the Agent Skills Master’s Program. 

    In ‘The Follow-Up’ module, I explain step-by-step how to use a simple, sortable spreadsheet to organize all your prospects, ask the right questions to ensure a continued dialogue, and systematically build relationships by providing the right information at the right time, 

    Here’s another article inspired by the same module: The Follow-Up Conundrum

  • The Greatest Marketing Tool in the World (and it’s FREE!)

    The Greatest Marketing Tool in the World (and it’s FREE!)

    Merry Christmas!

    In the spirit of the season, and since I caught your curiosity with my catchy title, I won’t make you read this entire article before I reveal The Greatest Marketing Tool!

    Here it is:

    It’s you!

    It’s how you interact with people.

    You could spend tens of thousands on splashy advertising and not get nearly the same results as you can get from one single face-to-face interaction.

    The face-to-face interaction is the most powerful form of advertising there is.

    I’ll give an example in a minute about how you can make $100,000 or more, beginning with a single positive face-to-face interaction. But first, know this:

    I’m an introvert. I’m seriously jealous of Expressive personality types, those who have a giant smile plastered to their face all the time, and who can seemingly strike up a conversation with anyone, anywhere, any time. 

    I used to HATE doing Open Houses. I felt awkward and self-conscious and fake.

    I had a hard time carrying on a conversation, and I wasn’t very successful at converting prospects to clients, or even getting their contact information.

    I felt like a fish out of water, and I’m sure that’s the exact impression I gave people.

    But I was committed to my new career, so I did a few different things that completely changed my attitude and results.

    1. I turned myself into the Area Expert. This was far easier than it sounds, and it dramatically improved my confidence.

    2. I studied personality styles, learning how to communicate better to different people in the style they preferred.

    3. I learned about my own style’s strengths and weaknesses and how to access my less dominant traits, bringing them to the surface when needed. 

    I learned to enjoy doing Open Houses by making a game out of it. The game was to make a deep personal connection with as many people as possible and convert them from prospects to clients.

    As difficult as this was before, it suddenly became easy!  And get this… Fun!

    I learned to enjoy my interactions with all different kinds of people, dramatically reducing my stress and becoming far more successful at the same time.

    It’s not to say there aren’t certain people who will always drive you crazy, no matter what.

    But here’s a golden nugget of wisdom for you:

    When you take the time to develop your interpersonal skills to ‘Expert’ status, you get to pick and choose the clients you enjoy the most.

    In the latter half of my full-time Real Estate career, I only worked with people when there was a high degree of mutual respect, and genuine enjoyment of each other.

    If you haven’t guessed it already, here’s how I turned a single interaction into $100,000 or more, numerous times.  

    In each case, it started by making a solid first impression at an Open House.

    And then… 

    Referrals from referrals from referrals…

    To me, doing Real Estate any other way just seems so darn hard.

    I’m too lazy to do things the hard way.

    This article was inspired by module #3 – The Open House Expert – part of the Agent Skills Master’s Program. 

    In the ‘Open House Expert’ module, I explain step-by-step how to build a reputation as a friendly, approachable, and knowledgeable Real Estate professional. It’s not as hard as might think to master the art of the face-to-face interaction, and easily and naturally obtain contact information from prospective clients.

    Here’s another article inspired by the same module: The One Time You Should Door Knock

  • How to Accomplish Waaaaay More with an Accountability Partner

    How to Accomplish Waaaaay More with an Accountability Partner

    Ah, the life of a REALTOR®. Being your own boss is the best, right?

    That’s what we all thought before reality set in, and we realized that everyone needs a boss, whether your boss is the proverbial Bill Lumbergh or you.

    It turns out that being your own boss is hard.

    I mean, let’s face it. If you don’t listen to your boss, those TPS reports will never get done! ‍

    But seriously, what about all those projects like revising your listing presentation, updating your website, or cleaning up your database?

    Those things have been on your to-do list for how long now?

    The hardest part about being your own boss is doing the stuff that doesn’t have an immediate pay-off.

    Like fixing your website, for example. 

    You know you need to do it. You know there’ll be a massive payoff when you finally get it done.

    (If you don’t know this, read The HUB of Your Marketing and WHY it Sucks)

    You’ve got a pile of other projects to get done too, but there are always a hundred other things that need your immediate attention, so guess what?

    The big stuff never gets done.

    Hey, I’m not trying to make you feel bad!

    If you’re a good REALTOR®, you’ve probably trained yourself to be a “rapid responder,” which is a good thing.

    But reacting to whatever is going on 100% of the time and devoting 0% of your time to work on larger projects (without distraction) is a bad thing.

    You need to find the balance between being a “rapid responder” (good) and “getting stuff done” (also good).

    It’s not uncommon to be a good REALTOR® and a lousy boss of yourself. 

    The problem is if you want to be a GREAT REALTOR®, it’s necessary to be a GREAT boss, too.

    If you’re a lousy boss of yourself, the first step is to admit it. You don’t have to go to a meeting or anything. Just repeat after me:

    “I’m a lousy boss of myself.”

    Say it out loud.

    Congratulations! That’s the first step. You’re on the road to recovery!

    The second step is to learn and implement some basic organizational skills.

    To get started on this, it’s helpful for many agents to have an accountability partner.

    This could be another agent in your office or a friend from another office.

    Consult ‘The Google’ for best practices on choosing a partner and structuring your meetings, but here are my top two rules, which I learned from the experience of doing the opposite.

    #1. Whether you’re meeting in-person, over Zoom, or on the phone, always follow a strict agenda.

    Start on time, end on time, and know what you’re going to talk about before you start.

    #2. Don’t allow your meeting deteriorate into a BS session.

    You can schedule a BS section as part of your meeting if you want, at the end. But it’s business first. Follow the agenda.

    Once you’ve got a partner, the two of you will need to learn some skills about how to be more productive, beyond just forcing yourself. 

    “OK, we’re both going to have new websites before next Monday!”

    That’s just setting yourself up for a relapse. You’ll be ‘Lousy-Bossing’ again before you know it.

    Instead, why not set your first goal with each other as something like this?

    “Let’s both explore a different productivity idea, implement it, and discuss it at our next meeting.”

    One step at a time, my friends. You can do this.

    This article was inspired by module #2 – Getting Stuff Done – part of the Agent Skills Master’s Program. 

    In the ‘Getting Stuff Done’ module, I explain step-by-step how to use ‘Rules and Routines’ and ‘Appointments with Yourself’ to massively increase your productivity, minimize distractions, and find the right balance between being a rapid responder (good) and getting stuff done (also good).

    Here’s another article inspired by the same module: How to Be the Boss of Yourself