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  • 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.

  • Referrals – The Never-Ending Stream

    Referrals – The Never-Ending Stream

    “Word of mouth” is by far the most effective type of advertising there is, and it’s FREE.

    But, WHY exactly do people refer to you?

    People recommend you because it makes THEM look good.

    When your client recommends you, it means they have 100% confidence that you will provide the same level of exemplary service to their friends and family, that you provided to them.

    When people have this level of confidence in you, they will go out of their way—without being asked—to recommend you.

    On the other hand, if there was anything about their experience working with you that wasn’t perfect, they might be unwilling to take the risk that you might make them look bad.

    Have you ever thought you did a great job, asked your clients for referrals, thought for sure they were going to come through, and it just never happened?

    Maybe they told you they were 100% satisfied and thought you did a great job. So, why no referrals?

    It’s probably because they’re not telling you the whole truth. They don’t want to hurt your feelings, because they like you. But, here’s what they’re saying to their friends:

    “He’s a super-nice guy, and he tries hard, but we thought he could have done a bit better at this, or that.”

    There’s some reason they weren’t thrilled; they’re just not telling you.

    Let’s be clear. They don’t think you did a terrible job! Not at all! They were, in fact… “satisfied.”

    Yuck. I hate that word.

    You don’t get referrals by being “satisfactory.”

    Think about it.  You go to a store, and you received “satisfactory” service.  Do you call up your friends and say, “Hey, you’ve got to check out this store!  Their products are adequate, and the service was satisfactory!”

    Nope. ‍

    You get referrals by being “exceptional.”

    When you provide your clients with the right information at the right time, when you have highly-effective systems and procedures, when you are proactive rather than reactive, when you know what to say and how to say it in different situations, these are all ways to eliminate misunderstanding and problems before they occur and to improve the value that you provide to your clients dramatically.

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

    The truth is it’s far easier and more rewarding to run your business around providing exceptional service and creating a never-ending stream of referrals, rather than having to pursue low-quality “leads” every day.

    Wouldn’t you rather be “taking care of business” rather than “chasing after business”?

    That’s what the Agent Skills Master’s Program is all about.

    You can’t just decide from inside your head that from now on, you’re going to be exemplary in every situation! You’ve got to learn HOW.

    You want a never-ending stream of referrals? I’ll show you HOW.

  • True Integrity

    True Integrity

    The word “integrity” is grossly over-used in Real Estate, including by the worst Salesy Slicksters who have none. When I say over-used, I’m talking “chef’s kitchen” or “gleaming hardwood!”

    Here’s my definition  of what true “integrity” means in Real Estate:

    1. You are an “agent,” as opposed to a “salesperson.” You always act in your clients’ best interest, without regard to your potential benefit. Sometimes this means talking yourself out of a commission check.
    2. You perform your duties to the very best of your abilities at all times. Easy to say, not so easy to execute. It means skipping lunch with a friend, so you have enough time to nail the correct price on your CMA. It means telling your client the straight-up-truth, no matter how little they want to hear it. You do the hard stuff.
    3. You recognize your weaknesses, and you continuously work on improving them, ultimately to deliver a higher quality of service to your clients.

    Almost all Real Estate agents will claim that they follow the first two points (whether they do or not). But it’s the third one that differentiates the best from the average. Genuine high-integrity agents are never quite satisfied with their abilities, and they continuously work to improve.

    For example, you know you should be reporting to your seller clients on a regular schedule. But it seems like there are always a thousand other things to do, so your reporting becomes haphazard and ineffective.

    Knowing how important it is for their clients to be receiving timely scheduled reports, high-integrity agents seek out ways to improve their organizational skills. They are always “tweaking” their businesses to deliver better information and service to their clients.

    When you conduct yourself in the ways I’ve described above, you’re exceptional, and the word gets around like wildfire. Believe me, I know.

    Beginning in my second year, I earned between $590,000-$865,000 every year for 12 years in a row, all as an individual agent, and with the vast majority generated from referrals.

    People ask me all the time how I was so successful. What was my “secret”?

    When I give them my answer (see above), they think I’m being coy. I shake my head and wonder why people are always looking for “secrets” when the truth is staring them in the face.

    These same people—the ones looking for “secrets”—would seemingly rather spend hours every day chasing cold Internet leads, rather than building a self-sustaining, profitable, rewarding business, by simply delivering exceptional customer service.

    I still don’t get it. ‍

  • The Power of Habit

    The Power of Habit

    All this month, I’ve been writing about how to Get Stuff Done, in anticipation of a New Year (and a New Decade) just around the corner (34 days to go).

    While I’m in the mood to increase productivity (including my own), I started reading The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg, which provides an incredibly insightful look at how habits work and how to change them to have a powerful and positive effect on your life. This book has confirmed to me that I’m on the right track with my last few blog posts, but it’s made things even clearer. It’s exciting to learn more!

    In Rules and Routines, I described how trying to make radical changes through sheer willpower alone was a recipe for disaster, so instead, you should start with baby steps by implementing simple Rules and then building on those Rules over time to create a Routine.

    The Power of Habit refers to these baby steps as “small wins,” incremental achievements that give you a sense of accomplishment.  I love the term “small wins”!

    Studies have proven that willpower is like a muscle. The more you use it, the stronger it gets. By achieving a small win, you are exercising your willpower, and getting stronger. In other words, just like exercising a muscle, willpower itself is something that is entirely within your ability to improve.

    If you feel like your willpower is weak, start exercising it.

    In 48 Days Until 2020 (34 days now), I wrote about taking a baby step towards establishing regular ‘Appointment with Yourself,” beginning with a weekly Business Planning session, a time when you will work ON your business, as opposed to working IN your business.

    Have you done it? ⁉️

    If not, how about you exercise your willpower right now and resolve to re-read that article and then implement the recommendations?

    If you do it, you’ll achieve a small win, and know this:

    BIG wins don’t happen without a series of small wins.

    The exciting news described in The Power of Habit is how big wins start occurring very naturally and in unpredictable ways when you start exercising your willpower muscle. You can transform your entire life!

    I’m going to leave it at that because I can’t do this book justice in a few paragraphs. It’s a highly entertaining read using real-world examples throughout to prove his point which is this:

    “The key to exercising regularly, losing weight, raising exceptional children, becoming more productive, building revolutionary companies and social movements, and achieving success is understanding how habits work.”

    I couldn’t agree more.  Here are the Amazon links for the U.S. and Canada.

  • The Self-Imposed Deadline

    The Self-Imposed Deadline

    Are you the type of REALTOR® who thrives on deadlines? You’ve procrastinated on that CMA all week, and now you’ve got 45 minutes to get it done. No problem! When you’ve got a deadline, you always come through.

    There are two ways you can look at this:

    1. When you’ve got a deadline, you’re able to get a lot of work done quickly and efficiently;
    2. You leave everything to the last minute, and therefore the work is often not to the standard that you’d like.

    Chances are there’s some truth to both statements. Sure, you got the CMA done, and it’s good, but half-way through the Listing Appointment, you realize that you’re missing some critical information. You messed up.

    If you lose the listing, what’s the potential cost? Ten grand? Maybe more? All because you left the CMA to the last minute?

    What if you had completed that CMA 24 hours before and then allowed yourself additional time to review and fine-tune it the next day? Wouldn’t that be better? ☺️

    Yes, of course! But (insert excuse here).

    “An excuse is simply a challenge that you’ve decided has power over you.” — Jen Sincero

    No matter what your excuse, you are probably keenly aware that your self-management could be much better.

    I use the term “self-management” because “time-management” doesn’t make any logical sense. You can’t manage time! Time marches on at the same speed for every one of us, no matter what. ⏳

    Self-management is not merely important. It’s the #1 essential ingredient to success for EVERY highly productive person.

    You want to know why that other agent produces twice as much (or five times as much) as you? Is it because they have more time than you? Nope! You’re both allotted the exact same 1,440 minutes per day. ⌚

    They simply manage themselves better than you do.

    If you want to improve (you do, right?), let’s start by utilizing your “skill” at meeting deadlines, and add in a few new complementary strategies:

    1. Commit to getting better at time-blocking ‘Appointments with Yourself’ and honoring your own set of Rules and Routines.
    2. Move your deadlines sooner. Always allow extra time for review AFTER your deadline, whether you think it is needed or not. Make this one of your Rules! ⏰
    3. Start your workday as early as possible. I know that sometimes you’re up late getting a deal done, but otherwise try changing your routine to go to bed earlier and get up earlier. Early mornings are the most productive time of day because there are far fewer distractions. Don’t waste this valuable early-morning time doing routine stuff like reviewing your email. Instead, this is when you should focus on completing larger tasks.
    4. For larger projects, break them down into bite-sized milestones. This way, you can feel the thrill of meeting your deadlines along the way. Saying you want a new website up-and-running in three months can sound like an impossible task, but if you break this down into ten or fifteen smaller projects with separate deadlines, that three-month goal becomes completely realistic.
    5. Find an accountability partner. Let’s face it; Real Estate can be a lonely business. If you’ve got a good friend in the business, you can help each other by encouraging and holding each other accountable for each of your self-imposed deadlines.
    6. Set rewards and consequences. Working towards small and big rewards can make your work more fun and motivational. Make a game out of attaching a reward to each one of your goals. You’ve got to be strict about this. If you don’t achieve the goal, you don’t get the reward.

    This all makes perfect sense, right?

    So, what are you going to do about it?

    You know, we’re coming up to a New Year/Decade. If you want to make some real positive changes I suggest you re-read last week’s post 48 Days Until 2020, except be aware of this:

    It’s now 41 days. And counting. You see how that darn clock keeps moving forward? ⌛

    A gentle reminder: You haven’t accomplished ANYTHING by merely reading this post. You’ve got to DO something. Why not take a baby step right now, even if it’s just time-blocking an ‘Appointment with Yourself’ to review this and the last two blogs, one more time? You can take another baby step after that.

    If it helps, think about a small reward you can give yourself for taking this first baby step. Now, go for it!

    I’ll leave you with one more quote from Jen Sincero, “In order to kick ass, you must first pick up your foot.”

  • 48 Days Until 2020

    48 Days Until 2020

    If you’re reading this on the day it was posted (November 14, 2019), you’ve got 48 days until a new decade begins on January 1, 2020. Do you have any New Year’s Resolutions planned?

    Here’s a better question: Why wait?

    If you’re planning to make improvements, whether personally or professionally, there’s no time like the present; I’ll show you how to get started, easily, TODAY!

    When you think about it, it doesn’t make a whole lot of sense to expect that you’ll instantly change your ways overnight. You’ll go to bed with ALL your bad habits on December 31, and magically wake up the morning of January 1, with all new good habits? Uh-huh. Yup. Sure you will.

    I think it’s great that you’ve got plans for improvement, but let’s give you an honest fighting chance at success.

    It’s fine and good to set New Year’s resolutions. But, rather than waiting until January 1, start implementing one or two or three baby steps towards your ultimate goal, NOW! ⏰

    This way, by the time 2020 comes around, you won’t be starting from scratch. Instead, you’ll already have adopted some new good habits, and your chances of success will be infinitely greater.

    If you know in your heart ❤️ that you need to make some serious changes, but you feel yourself resisting and avoiding, here’s why:

    In our crazy distraction-filled world, we are all constantly bombarded with information—some good, some not so good—and we’ve trained ourselves to “filter out” almost everything. After all, who has time to stop and try to differentiate the good stuff from the bad, and then to take the precious time that is required to put good, newfound knowledge into action? ‍♀️

    Most REALTORS® are always in “reaction” mode, and they rarely —if ever—proactively set aside time for business planning. Think of yourself like a pinball, bouncing around haphazardly. Sure, you try to control the flippers as best as you can, but that’s not exactly PLANNING.

    If this is YOU, let’s fix that right now. Here’s your first baby step towards having a far more organized business in 2020, and beyond:

    Start by re-reading last week’s post Rules and Routines.

    Set aside an hour (or 30 minutes, or 10 minutes), every week, for Business Planning. I’ll tell you what to do with this time in a minute, but first, you have to promise to follow the rules, as follows:

    Master Rule #1 – If I set a Rule, I MUST follow it.

    Master Rule #2 — I agree to treat ‘Appointments with Myself’ with the exact same level of respect as I would treat an “Appointment with my MVC (Most Valuable Client).”

    I will prepare myself mentally beforehand, I will start on time and finish on time, I will turn off ALL distractions, and I will give the task my FULL attention for the FULL duration of the Appointment.

    Master Rule #3 — I will set recurring appointments for the same time and the same day.  This rule ensures that you will form a habit, which is an essential part of the process.

    You can decide the duration of the appointment and exactly when it will be. In this case, I suggest you start with a once-weekly appointment. Mornings are best, but you decide. If it makes you nervous to begin with an hour, start with five minutes, or whatever. I don’t care. Just get this habit started!

    You won’t get much accomplished in five minutes, but if you follow all the rules, you’ll probably be surprised that you start to look forward to your Business Planning Appointment, and you’ll quickly expand the time.

    For starters, I don’t suggest planning more than one hour per week or more than once per week. You can expand it later, but wait until you feel the urge to spend more time on it. I guarantee this will happen, but let it occur naturally. Do not spend more than the pre-determined time on your Business Planning Appointment. ⌛

    Have you agreed to follow ALL the rules? This is essential. If you don’t follow the rules, you will NOT succeed. That I can guarantee.

    Example: Your first Business Planning Appointment starts in five minutes, but you’re in the middle of doing something else, and you want to finish that first. OK, you’ve blown Rules #1 and #2. You fail.

    If you want to succeed, you MUST honor the Rules!

    Now is the time. To respectfully borrow from a famous phrase:

    “It’s one small step for you. One giant leap for your business.”

    I’m serious about this. Please stop reading this and schedule this vitally important recurring ‘Business Planning Appointment’ right now. Don’t worry about what to do with it, just yet. I’ll tell you when you come back.

    (The theme from “Jeopardy” playing in the background)

    OK! You’re back! Congratulations on making your first baby step towards completely recharging your business in 2020!

    I’m dead serious about that statement, my friends. EVERY journey begins with a single step, and you just made your first step!

    Now, what do you do with this time you’ve set aside? Simple:

    1. Make a list of ALL the stuff you want to do better
    2. Prioritize your list
    3. Be specific about each goal that you want to achieve
    4. Working backward, figure out each step you will need to accomplish to achieve each of your goals
    5. Take the first step towards your top priority
    6. Focus on one step at a time
    7. Book more Appointments with Yourself to Get Stuff Done, as needed

    Stick to your game plan. If it’s one hour per week, and if you honor your commitment, I promise you will be amazed at how much progress you make BEFORE January 1.

    Happy New Year, everyone!

  • Rules and Routines

    Rules and Routines

    Improving your life through sheer willpower might work for some super-humans, but it’s a recipe for disaster for most of us. You try to do something; you fail, you feel discouraged, you stop trying.

    On the other hand, establishing a few simple ‘Rules and Routines’ can add order to your life, and make you feel far more in control and more productive.

    You can introduce ‘Rules’ incrementally as a way towards accomplishing a much bigger goal. For example, let’s set a rule towards a bigger goal of weight loss:

    Weight Loss Rule #1 – No snacking after 7:00 p.m.

    All you have to do is master that one rule for now. That’s it. And by the way, this is a good rule for everyone, whether you need to lose weight or not, because eating late at night interferes with your circadian rhythm. If you eliminate eating after 7:00, you’ll improve your digestion, you’ll sleep better, and you’ll wake up more energized.

    If you’re a chronic night-time snacker and a 7:00 cut-off seems too challenging, adjust the rule to something you know you can do.  Make the cut-off time 8:00 or 8:30, for starters. Then, gradually move up the time in 15-minute increments until you’ve achieved your bigger goal.

    Or, if that’s still too hard, be as creative as you need to be:

    Weight Loss Rule #1 – Maximum HALF pail ice-cream, before midnight

    You do need to utilize some willpower! The trick is to make it somewhat challenging, but not to overload yourself.

    Do not introduce too many rules at once, and start with rules that are relatively easy to follow. As you achieve success, you’ll be ready to take on more challenging rules.

    They say Rules are “made to be broken,” but that does NOT apply to Personal Productivity.

    Master Rule #1 – If I set a Rule, I MUST honor it. 

    Here’s the thing. You’re a solopreneur. You’ve got NOBODY to set and monitor the rules for you, so guess who has to do it?

    Hint: Not one person in the history of the universe ever became a highly successful achiever without following strict, self-imposed rules.

    If you genuinely want to be an achiever, agreeing to “Master Rule #1” is compulsory. Otherwise, there’s a different word for you. You’re a dreamer.

    I know that’s harsh, but it’s time to get real. Snap out of it!

    Here’s the good news: Learning to follow self-imposed rules is incredibly liberating because it removes all uncertainty from the equation. There’s no longer any internal debate about whether you’re going to do something, or not. All you have to do is follow the rules.

    Once you set a rule, you can now eliminate from your brain the constant feelings of neglect and guilt over NOT doing what you know you need to be doing.

    When you’ve successfully followed a rule for long enough, it will start to feel like an ingrained habit!

    Now, you can go ahead and introduce a new rule!  For example, you’ve mastered Weight Loss Rule #1 (no eating after 7:00 p.m.).  How about adding this new rule?

    Weight Loss Rule #2 — No sugary drinks, ever.

    Or whatever. Pick something.

    Guess what? You’re accomplishing things—one step at a time—towards a much bigger goal. You’re feeling good about the positive changes you are making, and you will be amazed at what you can accomplish over time.

    What about ‘Routines’?

    A ‘Routine’ is simply a recurring task that you perform at a pre-determined time-blocked ‘Appointment with Yourself.’

    For example:

    1. You send a report to all your sellers every Monday morning, beginning at 10:00 a.m.
    2. You take care of your bookkeeping the first Friday of every month, beginning at 1:00 p.m.
    3. You review your Prospect List every day between 9:00-9:15.

    I suggest you make a list of ALL your routine activities that you KNOW you should be doing, but just keep a list for now. Do NOT try to implement rules and routines all at once.  ️

    Before you implement ANY new routine, you must agree with Master Rule #2:

    Master Rule #2 — I agree to treat ‘Appointments with Myself’ with the exact same level of respect as I would treat an “Appointment with my Most Valuable Client.” I will prepare myself mentally beforehand, I will start on time and finish on time, I will turn off ALL distractions, and I will give the task my FULL attention for the FULL duration of the Appointment.

    Master Rule #2 is a tough one for almost all REALTORS®!

    I completely understand! I suggest you work up to Master Rule #2 by introducing and mastering some easier rules, first.

    For example, I just recently set a new rule for myself:

    Tidy Office Rule – Tidy and Organize for five minutes every morning. ‍

    As soon as I walk into my office EVERY morning, I set a timer for ten minutes, and I tidy and organize. I just started doing this, and it already feels great to work in a tidier and more organized space!

    I’ve trained myself to follow my self-imposed rules so that this new Tidy Office Rule is already a routine for me. I walk in the office, and I set to work immediately, picking up where I left off yesterday.

    This is just an elementary example of how you can use rules and routines to increase your productivity.

    Think of one simple rule you can implement today as a stepping stone towards a bigger goal. 

    Here’s a suggestion: The Real Agent Memo comes out early in the morning, every Thursday. How about you make it a rule that you will take the five minutes it takes to read it, every Thursday morning before it gets buried in your gigantic overwhelming backlog of email?

    We can deal with your email problem another day! ☺️

  • The Follow-Up

    The Follow-Up

    Note from Ted: This is a savagely pared-down portion of ‘The Follow-Up’ module from the upcoming Agent Skills Master’s Program.  It’s REALLY hard for me to take something I’ve worked so hard at perfecting and then shrink it to 10% of the size, kind of like seeing only 10% of a painting!  Not that I think I’m an artist or anything, but I’m pretty darn proud of this thing.  Anyway, hopefully, you get a few tidbits out of this portion.

    Over the last three Memos, we talked about Building Relationships, The FORD Method, and How to Talk Gooder.  Assuming you’ve now got a nice pile of hot and warm prospects, what’s next?

    It’s ‘The Follow-Up’!

    First, purge the negative self-talk that is preventing you from following through.

    “I don’t want to bother people!”

    “I don’t want to come across as too salesy!”

    Stop it! ✋  If you use the method I’m going to show you, you will certainly NOT be bothering people, and you should already know that the last thing I want you to do is to be a Salesy Slickster. Remember this:

    You’re a friendly, professional, knowledgeable provider of valuable information.

    That’s the positive mindset you need to adopt. ☺️

    If you find yourself being hesitant to contact a prospect, it’s because you’re focusing on yourself rather than how you can provide value to your potential client.

    Change your focus, and the fear disappears.

    Here are the basic rules for following up with your leads:

    1. Always have a purpose.

    At first, your purpose is to get your prospect to re-engage with you; nothing more, nothing less. You’ve already had some dialogue with them, so now you want to continue the conversation. If you’re sending an email, always ask a question or ask for a confirmation at the end of every message.

    “What are your thoughts on this listing?”

    “Would you like to view this one?”

    “Please confirm that I’m sending the correct information.”

    Pro Tip: If you’re dealing with a couple, always send messages to both of them. Doing this will double your odds of getting a response from at least one of them, and it keeps them both in the loop. After all, if you want to advance the relationship with a couple, you need to build rapport with them BOTH.  ‍❤️‍

    Once you’ve got a response, then your goal should be to continue the conversation further.

    2. Frequency

    The newer the prospect, the more urgent it is to re-engage with them.

    For example, in the case of a prospect you met at an Open House, send the first results of their search with a cover letter as soon as possible after you’ve met them; within an hour, if possible, but at least before the end of your workday. Do not wait until the next day! ⏰

    “Hey, Sam and Suzy! It was nice to meet you both at my Open House earlier today! Here are all the current listings matching your search criteria, as we discussed.”

    List ALL the criteria, including the geographical area, price range, size and type of home, and whatever other determining factors you discussed with them. Then continue:

    “Please feel free to contact me at any time if you’d like more information on any one of these properties. I’m happy to answer any questions you have! I can also arrange a showing for any property you are interested in, with no obligation whatsoever. Please confirm that you received this message and that the search criteria I’ve listed are all correct. Good luck with your search!”

    Notice that the tone of this message is friendly and helpful. It’s not even slightly salesy! There is no underlying expectation of anything from you. You’re simply offering to provide help if they want it.

    Remember, you’re still at the early stages of nurturing the relationship.  You don’t ask someone to marry you on the first date! Do you?

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    If you feel like this is over-doing it, you’re wrong. On every message you’ve sent so far, all you’ve done is ask for a simple confirmation that the message was received.

    Some people are simply not as responsive as others. But if you give up too soon, you’re probably giving up hundreds of thousands in potential commissions. Let that sink in.

    “You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take.”  – Wayne Gretzky

    3. The Value Rule

    Do not EVER contact a prospect or client unless you are providing or offering to provide something of VALUE.

    For example, you’ve set up a prospect you met at your Open House on a custom search, and they’ve confirmed with you that they’ve received the information. Now what?

    I suggest you wait one day, and then try to find something of value that you can send to them to continue the dialogue. For example:

    “Hi, Sam and Suzy.  I looked through your search results, and I quite like this one because of this and that. What are your thoughts? If you’re interested, I can set up a time for you to see it. I’d like to see this property myself, anyway! Please let me know either way. Thanks!”

    It’s a friendly message, but it also demonstrates to Sam and Suzy that you are actively trying to help them, you’re happy to show them a property, and it’s no problem at all because you want to see it anyway! This removes any pressure or sense of obligation that they might be feeling.

    Your goal here is to get to the next step, which is—of course—to show them one or more properties! That will be a break-through step because once you’ve shown them a single property, it’s relatively easy to complete the conversion from prospect to client.

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    By the way, the main point of all this is not to tell you exactly what to do and say, but rather to emphasize the proper TONE in your communication.

    New prospects are FRAGILE!

    You haven’t established trust with them yet, so you need to be as unthreatening as possible. If you’re worried about appearing too salesy, that’s good! That’s the LAST thing you want to be!

    Another approach for further dialogue could be to suggest a modification to their search, “Hi Sam and Suzy. I noticed you’ve got Pleasantville in your search, but not Happyville, which is a very similar neighborhood. Would you like me to add Happyville so you can see those listings as well?”

    You’re a friendly, professional, knowledgeable provider of valuable information.

    Yes, I know I already said that. It’s important!

    You could also let them know about a negative, “Hey Sam and Suzy! This new listing looks good, but unfortunately, it backs onto a very busy roadway. I would not recommend this one due to poor future resale potential. Please let me know if you agree that this is a significant negative factor. Thanks!”

    Why would you purposely tell them about a negative factor on a listing?

    Because you’re building trust! You want your clients to regard you as a trusted advisor. Don’t you?

    “To be persuasive, we must be believable. To be believable, we must be credible. To be credible, we must be truthful.” – Edward R. Morrow

    The most important rule in Real Estate—in my opinion—is to hold your clients’ best interests above your own, ALWAYS.

    Your reputation is your greatest and most vulnerable asset.  Protect it at all costs.

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    When you practice and develop the skill of Following Up as a friendly, professional, knowledgeable provider of valuable information, you’ll be surprised how easily and naturally people transition from prospect to client, just because you made an honest effort to help them.

    Once you’ve developed this skill, you’ll never worry again about not having enough clients. 

  • How to Talk Gooder

    How to Talk Gooder

    Last week, we talked about how to initiate conversations with people using The FORD Method.

    Once you’ve got a good conversation going, don’t be in a hurry to steer the topic to Real Estate.  That’s being a Salesy Slickster.

    Do. Not. Be. A. Salesy. Slickster.

    Just let the conversation go where it may.  ISTEN, show interest and enjoy the opportunity to meet a new and (hopefully) interesting person. Maybe you’ll learn something! Or, at the very least, perhaps you’ll enjoy yourself!

    Life isn’t ALL about Real Estate, you know.

    If you’re enjoying the conversation, chances are the other person is, too. You’re developing rapport!

    Remember the “O” in The FORD Method (occupation)? If the conversation starts to lag a bit, you can always ask the other person, “What do you do?”.

    Now, listen! Show interest. Ask follow-up questions.

    Almost everyone likes to talk about themselves. Here is your opportunity to learn some interesting information, and you can mentally take notes at the same time. For example, what is their communication style?

    After blabbing about themselves for a while, almost everyone will reciprocate and ask you, “So, what do you do?”

    Please don’t use any ultra-cheesy phrases, such as, “I help families achieve their ultimate dreams through Real Estate ownership.”

    That makes you sound like an idiot.

    It’s perfectly fine (and non-idiotic) to say, “I’m a residential REALTOR®.”

    If you say this, and they suddenly have an urgent need to run to the bathroom or get another drink, it’s probably because they’ve had a bad experience with a Salesy Slickster. But if you’ve got a pleasant conversation going and you’ve developed some rapport, chances are they will show interest and start asking YOU questions. Again, allow the discussion to build naturally.

    The most common question we get asked is this:

    “How’s the market?” ‍

    Be careful how you answer!

    For example, if you tell people you’re extremely busy, they may think you’re too busy to sell their home. If you tell them the market is very slow, they may think it’s a bad time to buy or sell.

    Instead, ask them exploratory questions, in a way that allows you to continue the conversation, such as:

    “The market behaves quite differently depending on many different factors, including geographical area, price range, timing, etc. Is there a particular market segment that you’re interested in?”

    This type of open-ended question will usually get them talking more, but if not, there’s nothing wrong with asking them specifically if they’re thinking about buying or selling.

    You’re NOT asking to be their REALTOR®. That’s too pushy. You’re simply continuing the conversation.

    Then, you could offer to help by sending additional information. For example, if they’re considering selling, you could offer to send them all the details on every property that has sold in their neighborhood for the past six months. People love getting this type of information!

    Of course, to do that, you’ll need to get their email address, and you should ask for their phone number, “just in case there are any issues with their email.” Now you can follow up with them — more on The Follow-Up, next week.

    Now, you’ve got their contact information and a Follow-Up plan. You’re doing great!

    Now that you’ve got some rapport going, if the conversation is stalling out, go back to the FORD Method. It’s way easier to come up with new topics of discussion, once you know the person a bit better. Just don’t be fake about it. Enjoy yourself! Sometimes the best way to establish further rapport is to steer the topic of conversation AWAY from Real Estate.

    Of course, if the person is a hot prospect, you could push a bit harder and try to get an appointment to discuss their situation further. Just be very careful. It’s easy to come across as a Salesy Slickster, even if you’re NOT one. Remember, they don’t know you well yet. You’ve made a great first impression, so it’s often the best course of action to back off and plan to talk about business later at a more appropriate time and place. ⏰

    The Follow-Up is the next step, and it’s where so many agents fail miserably.  I’ll talk about that next week.