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A few weeks ago, I talked about How to Mitigate the Most Stressful Part About Being a REALTOR®, like when you have to rely on an unskilled, inexperienced agent on the other side of a transaction.

I encourage you to re-read that post. It demonstrates how—by acting proactively and initiating a cooperative and respectful tone with your “opponent”—you can gain much more control over a negotiation than you previously thought.

Continuing with that train of thought, have you ever received an offer loaded with unusual or unnecessary terms and conditions? 

When this happens, does it throw up multiple red flags?

It sure does for me! It tells me that the other agent is likely to be difficult and unreasonable. My clients instinctively see red flags also, which makes them less willing to negotiate on the price. This is counter-productive from the buyer’s perspective, so why the heck do they do it?

It’s almost always because the agent is either trying to mitigate a past bad experience, or (adopt your snarkiest voice), “they’re simply following their clients’ instructions.”

Yes, I know you’re supposed to follow your client’s lawful instructions! But this doesn’t mean you shouldn’t speak up if you think your buyer clients are making a mistake! 

What the heck are you talking about, Ted?

I’m talking about ANYTHING that draws attention AWAY from the two most essential parts in every Purchase Contract.

1. The price, and;
2. The closing date.

If you’re able to cooperate with the sellers on the closing date, you can immediately concentrate on the #1 most important part of every contract—the price. The quicker you get to this, the better. Everything else is a distraction.

There are all kinds of whacky and weird terms that I’ve seen in contracts, usually initiated by the agent “because they had one bad experience back in 1995,” so they’ve been writing this extra term in every offer, ever since.

OK, I get it that you had a bad experience. But maybe you should reconsider if you’re honestly acting in your clients’ best interest. Adding undue complexity to an offer to minimize a slight risk could cost your clients much more than it’s worth.

Sometimes, even the simplest thing can throw people off. For example, let’s say your buyers want to add a term that the sellers will shampoo the carpets before closing. That sounds harmless, right? 

It’s a softball example, and the truth is it probably is not a big deal. But you don’t know. The sellers might see it as a supreme pain in the butt; one more thing they need to worry about when they’re already overwhelmed coordinating their move.

Or they might even take offence! 

“They think our house is dirty? We had everything thoroughly cleaned before we listed, including shampooing the carpets. How insulting!”

Hey, I still get surprised about how emotional my clients sometimes get over the tiniest of details.

So, is it worth it to take the chance over something so inconsequential? 

Wouldn’t it be better to concentrate on getting the best possible PRICE, rather than complicating the offer with inconsequential minor details?

Sometimes, getting that carpet cleaned could inadvertently cost your client an extra $5,000, and they won’t even know it.

The point is, no matter what minor details your buyer client wants you to add to an offer, I suggest you always counsel them to concentrate on the Big Picture:

“A simple, uncomplicated offer is always more appealing to the seller. The sooner we get to negotiating the price—with no distractions—the more successful we’re likely to be.”

Don’t kid yourself. Every tiny detail you include in an offer has a value to both the buyer and seller, and they rarely see things the same way.

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One-time offer: Some of you may have noticed that the cost of the Agent Skills Master’s Program doubled a little while ago. The old price was an introductory offer, and it was long overdue to go up. However, if you’ve been sitting on the fence, here’s a one-time offer to buy the course with lifetime access for the old price (CDN $1250 or USD $997). This is your last chance to get in at this price. The coupon expires at midnight on December 31!

Discount code: LASTCHANCE21

Note: The Master’s Program has never been discounted before and will never be offered at this price again!

Ted Greenhough,

Agent Skills, Corp.

(RAM readers: Read this post and find out how to join me next week for a full demonstration of my Listing Presentation.)

In my last post, I talked about How to Make a LOT More Money with a LITTLE More Effort.

The first step is to book your listing appointments 3-4 days ahead to ensure you have sufficient time to prepare properly. After all, we’ve all got 1,000 other things to do, right?

I know! You’re scared that if you book the appointment too far ahead, some other agent might scoop the listing. Right?

But, if you know how to make a solid impression on the phone and you follow up quickly with the correct information, it’s easy to build anticipation and loyalty BEFORE your meeting. 

Here’s how I do it:

I’ve designed a Seller Information Form that covers all the basics, PLUS it helps me identify the prospect’s communication style, motivation level, price expectation, and which other agents they are interviewing.

It’s a massive advantage (and a time saver) to have all this information ahead of time, and it’s EASY to get if you know how to ask the right questions in a non-confrontational way.

(Note: The exact Seller Information Form I use is included within module #9, ‘Setting the Stage’ in the Agent Skills Master’s Program.)

During this initial call, I also provide a very brief overview of the various topics I will cover during our meeting, including:

1. A Comprehensive Market Overview – How current market conditions may affect the listing.

2. Pricing Strategy – How to get the highest possible price in the shortest possible time.

3. Pre-listing Preparation – What steps can be taken before you list to maximize the sale price?

4. Marketing – My exact strategy on how to generate the most high-quality showings.

5. Communication Plan – How I keep my clients thoroughly informed throughout the process. 

I also tell them that I’ll be emailing a list of recent SOLD listings (not ACTIVES) before the meeting, including the list price, sale price, days on the market, full description, and all the pictures.

This is all designed to create excitement about our upcoming meeting!

After I’ve hung up, I email my Pre-Presentation Letter (also included in ‘Setting the Stage’), which summarizes everything above. Some people are better at auditory information, and some are better at visual, so between the phone call and the letter, I cover all my bases.

Then, I get to work on the CMA, and I send off the SOLD comparables at least one full day (preferably two) before our appointment. Of course, there’s a whole strategy around this, which I cover in ‘The Big Picture CMA.’

Two key points:

1. 99% of your competitors have no system whatsoever for gathering and conveying information during prospective listing calls. If you have a solid professional system, you’ve already made a powerful impression. 

2. After you send your Pre-Presentation Letter and the sold comparables, you’ve now solidified your position as the most knowledgeable and professional agent they are planning to interview. Of course they’re going to wait for you!

If you do it right, your prospects will be primed and squirmy-wormy anticipating your listing presentation. And—even more importantly—your execution is going to be exceptional because you’ve allotted the necessary time to be thoroughly prepared.

(Reminder: Check my previous post for a solid game plan on how to prepare for a listing presentation.)

Having easily repeatable systems and procedures and knowing the right questions to ask goes a long way towards building loyalty long before you’ve ever met your prospects. 

(Master’s Program Members: Make an Appointment with Yourself to review ‘Setting the Stage’ one more time! And keep working on fine-tuning that presentation!)

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Watch my Listing Presentation

If you’re a licensed Real Estate agent anywhere in North America, and you’d like to see my listing presentation, simply respond to this email, and I’ll send you a link to a Zoom presentation next Thursday, December 9, at 10:00 a.m. (MST).

I’ll walk you through my entire presentation from start to finish.

Note: I will NOT be recording the presentation, so please block off one hour in your calendar right now. The reason it’s a full hour is to allow sufficient time to explain the psychology behind each segment of the presentation. It’s powerful.

Ted Greenhough,

Agent Skills, Corp.

If I asked you to put your head down and work hard for one hour to earn $10,000, would you do it?

Well, duh! Who wouldn’t?

Of course, it takes way more than one measly hour to earn a $10,000 commission. 

But I’m talking about the times when you missed out on a commission for want of a tiny bit more effort.

Trying to earn a commission with as little effort as possible is like being a reckless amateur gambler. 

You’ll still win sometimes, but you’ll lose way more commissions than you should.

Putting $10,000 into perspective.

Think about how long it takes a skilled tradesperson to make $10,000. If they’re highly qualified with several years experience and are lucky enough to have a top-paying job in their industry, $10,000 probably represents a MONTH of hard work at around $60/hr.

Compare that to the last time you lost a great listing because you didn’t spend an extra hour (or ten minutes) ensuring that you were fully prepared. 

Have you ever foolishly blown up $10,000?

I have. Many times. Some of my past blunders from years ago still make me cringe.

For missed listing opportunities alone, here are three of the dumbest reasons I gambled away $10,000 or more:

1. It was a referral from a friend, and I thought it was a slam-dunk; 

2. I got busy doing other stuff and didn’t allow myself sufficient time to prepare;

3. I was just plain lazy and figured that what I had prepared was “good enough.”

Whatever the reason, over the course of my career, I’ve lost the equivalent of several YEARS worth of a skilled tradesperson’s wages.

Then I finally figured out how to minimize the odds of losing. 

Here’s how you can do it too:

1. You must have a professional Listing Presentation. If you don’t have one or yours needs work, schedule time to improve it and practice weekly.

If you invest 50 hours into developing a great listing presentation over the next six months (two hours per week), it will pay off for the next TEN years. That investment of time could easily return a million dollars or more in additional commissions.

That’s $1,000,000 for 50 hours of work ($20,000/hour). Is that enough incentive for you? 

Life Hack #1: Some investments don’t have an instant payout, but the return can be life-changing over time.

2. Try to schedule your listing appointments for 3-4 days after the first contact. The extra time provides flexibility to schedule CMA prep time around other vital tasks without cutting corners and causing unnecessary stress.

(If you’re worried about losing the listing to another agent who might react quicker than you, there’s a simple way to ensure that never happens, but it’s a big topic. If you’re curious, book a 15-minute call with me here. I’m happy to help anyone who asks.)

3. Immediately after you set the listing appointment, schedule an ** ‘Appointment with Yourself’ ** to get started working on your CMA. It’s good to get your brain thinking about how to approach your CMA as soon as possible, long before your appointment.

Life Hack #2: Every successful person in the world purposely schedules time to think and plan.

4. Schedule another ‘Appointment with Yourself’ one day before your appointment to review and fine-tune your CMA. This might take only 10-15 minutes, but you’ll be surprised how often a second look will give you a different insight. 

Life Hack #3: Your brain is a powerful engine, and it can do amazing things all on its own if you keep it primed.

5. Block off one more ‘Appointment with Yourself’ for a full hour right before your listing appointment, not including travel time. Most times, you won’t need the entire hour, but it’s no big deal to have time left over. For example, use 10-15 minutes of the allotted time to review your CMA, and then use any spare time to respond to messages or check your email.

If you do need the entire hour, you’ll be glad you’ve allotted that vital time immediately before your appointment. I can’t tell you how often I’ve had a last-minute insight and made a critical change to my CMA within an hour before my listing appointment.

6. Plan to arrive 15 minutes early. This eliminates anxiety in case you run into bad traffic or whatever. (If you’re perpetually late, read this.) ⏰

When you arrive, park down the street, and review your CMA and presentation one last time. This final review ensures that the information is fresh in your mind and increases your chances of a clear and polished delivery.

If you do everything above, you will dramatically improve your success rate. Most agents will earn at least an extra $50,000 or $100,000 every year, with just a LITTLE more effort.

The main point of this post is that you’ve got to plan to succeed, which means you must purposely allow sufficient time for preparation to ensure you are on top of your game. Of course, this goes for all the other ways we gamble away our commissions—not just listing appointments!

REALTORS® are notoriously terrible at leaving everything to the last minute, which is an exorbitantly expensive and simple problem to fix. If you need some help with this, book a 15-minute call with me here

Or, if you’ve already taken the Master’s Program, go back and review ‘Getting Stuff Done’ and ‘Setting the Stage’ one more time.

Last word: You just read this entire post, and you’re saying to yourself, “Who has time to book all these ‘Appointments with Themself?’

Answer: I did. But only when I was making over $800,000 per year in commissions. Before that, when I was making less, I didn’t have time either. Think about it. 

The time we have every day is limited. It’s all about using more time doing the right things and less time doing the wrong things.

If you’re overwhelmed and still not making the money you want, all you need are better skills. Perhaps you should consider taking my course.

** ‘Appointment with Yourself’ ** Treat every ‘Appointment with Yourself’ precisely like an appointment with your best client or your dentist or a date with your spouse. That means you block off the time and work the rest of your schedule around your appointment. Your time is just as important as anyone else’s. This is one of the cornerstone principles I teach in ‘Getting Stuff Done.’

Ted Greenhough,

Agent Skills, Corp.

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

I’ve had some success in my life, but I’m FAR from perfect. I struggle with stuff, just like you.

Lately, I’ve noticed that my addiction to Facebook has gotten worse. 

How about you? Do you find yourself wasting time, mindlessly scrolling through your social media feeds? ‍

To be clear, I’m not talking about USING social media as an essential marketing tool in your business. You absolutely MUST be doing this.

I’m referring to the scrolling habit—the mind-numbing productivity killer.

It’s like thinking you can eat one chip out of the bag.

Nope! Scarfed down the entire bag once again. Do we have any more?

To overcome my Facebook scrolling addiction, I’ve decided to limit myself to ten minutes of access, a couple of times per day, from my laptop or desktop computer only. As such, I’ve removed the app from my phone. It’s gone. Forever.

This eliminates the temptation to ‘Tap the App’ whenever the slightest bit of boredom creeps into my day. 

No more thinking I can eat a single chip out of that family-size bag.

Scrolling your social feeds may seem harmless, and it’s not like there aren’t some good aspects to it.

The good stuff

One of the good parts of Facebook for me is keeping up with whatever fun stuff is happening with my friends. And, I love having a “journal” of various events and trips I’ve taken over the years. 

The bad stuff

But lately, the good parts are far outweighed by the bad, the most significant being negativity itself. I’m tired of people griping at each other over stupid disagreements, with zero chance of ever changing the other’s mind (not that I haven’t gone down that rabbit hole myself a couple thousand times, or so).

I’ve also recently noticed the proliferation of AFG’s (Ads For Garbage). I’m embarrassed, but not too proud to admit, that I’ve been sucked into buying products from slick-looking companies on Facebook, received them, and literally thrown them straight into the trash. ️

Never again

I genuinely find it fascinating that these companies can spend millions producing professional, ultra-slick ads (along with hundreds of seemingly fake reviews), but they don’t seem to give two moose berries about the actual product they’re selling. What a colossal sham!

Note to every REALTOR® reading this:

If you think you can “market” your way to lasting success without actually BEING a great REALTOR®, you’re dead wrong. In a local, relationship-based business, your reputation carries more weight than anything else you’ve got. 

Of course, the biggest problem with social media is the sheer overwhelming waste of time and reduced productivity. If you still think it’s harmless, for one single day, I implore you to keep track of how much time you spend ‘mindlessly scrolling.’ Then, ask yourself, “What else could I have done with that time today?”

If you accomplish more while you’re at work, it means you can spend more quality time with your friends or family. So that’s what I’m training my brain to focus on. Less scrolling = More quality time with others.

Nobody on their deathbed ever said, “I wish I spent more time working.” True, but when you’re at work, you need to Get Stuff Done. And remember this:

Nobody on their deathbed ever said, “I wish I spent more time mindlessly scrolling through my social media feed.”

I’m ready for a change. It’s not going to be an easy habit to break, but I’m determined. How about you? 

Will you join me? Just respond “yes,” and I’ll send you back a few words of encouragement. We can do this together!

(Yes, I read and personally respond to EVERY email I get.)

Two weeks ago, I posted this article: The Funnest Part About Being a REALTOR®. 

But it’s not all fun and games, right? 

The most frustrating part of the business for me is when I have no control over a situation.

It can be maddening when I know there’s a simple solution to a problem, but it’s not up to me alone. The other agent’s action (or lack of action) makes us both look bad to our clients, and often reflects poorly on the industry overall.

I’m painfully aware that there are certain times when it’s plain impossible to resolve a bad situation. However, I firmly believe that—most times—if I act proactively, I can mitigate stress and increase the likelihood of a successful conclusion.

mit·i·gate /ˈmidəˌɡāt/ – make less severe, serious, or painful.

1. Less texting – More talking

Texts and email are great for conveying information, but nothing beats a simple, friendly phone conversation to learn about your “opponent” during a negotiation. Everyone is different, so quickly gaining an understanding of the other’s communication style, experience, and skillset should be an essential first step in your strategy.

(You can become an expert at this by taking the Master’s Program or multiple other learning resources, not necessarily focused solely on Real Estate.)

2. Assisting the Inexperienced

When you’re negotiating with an inexperienced agent, they will rarely (if ever) admit that they’re unsure what to do. But of course, it’s obvious.

We all know that inexperience is the ‘blower-upper’ of many a good, solid deal. 

I deal with this by figuring out how to subtly help the other agent while consciously allowing them to save face. 

For example, let’s say they’re representing the buyers on one of my listings, and I’m nervous about how they might handle the upcoming home inspection.

One way I can mitigate risk is to redirect my concern to the agent’s clients, “Hey, between you and me, I’m a bit nervous about the home inspection because it seems like your clients are a bit young and inexperienced. I’m sure you do the same thing, but I always prepare my clients before the home inspection by telling them….”

Then, I give them a short summary of my standard ‘pre-home-inspection’ speech. For more information, read this post: The Simple Home Inspection Speech

By the way, I don’t just blurt this out immediately. By the time I get to this stage, I’ve already established a friendly and respectful rapport with the other agent, so my suggestion sounds like a continuation of our friendly dialogue.

Also, it’s entirely OK to convey this type of information over an email. There’s a time and a place for different methods of communication, but an email is perfect for conveying information that cannot be expressed in a few words, and doesn’t require any subtlety.

By sending this “suggestion” in a friendly, non-confrontational way, I’m “teaching” the other agent without making it obvious. They always respond with:

“Yes, I do that too!”

Whether that’s true or not is not important. If the other agent needed a little guidance on how to counsel their clients through a home inspection, then I’ve just helped them (and me) towards a successful conclusion to the transaction.

If not, no big deal. We’ve confirmed we’re all on the same page, and that’s a good thing. Sometimes, it’s just a good reminder to the other agent.

Describing your own version of The Simple Home Inspection Speech is just a single example out of hundreds of different scenarios where you can help an inexperienced agent while still respecting them and not drawing attention to their lack of knowledge. 

Taking the high road and fostering a dialogue based on mutual respect goes a long way towards achieving your end goal (a successful transaction) rather than belittling the other agent, which is 100% counter-productive.It all boils down to fostering a spirit of working together through excellent communication, with the end goal of creating a win-win-win-win for the buyer, the seller, the other agent, and you.

What services do you provide to your clients? Professional photography? A home-staging consultation? A weekly report/update?

These are all important, but there’s something more fundamental that is harder to define.

It’s your ability to stitch together a deal and make it stick.

This sounds obvious, but in fact, it requires a spicy recipe of tenacity, experience, and skill. To achieve consistent success, you need the best of all three ingredients! ‍

Honestly, when was the last time you did a deal where everything just came together easily, with zero problems from start to finish?

Sure it happens once in a blue moon, but typically, we’re working through small problems (and big ones) starting at the negotiation stage, getting conditions removed, and right up to the possession date. Even after closing sometimes!

If you’re a great agent, your clients are sheltered from many of your struggles. This is one of the big reasons the public doesn’t understand how much work goes into completing a Real Estate transaction. They see about 5% of what we do.

And let’s be honest; sometimes, it’s our own clients who are the biggest roadblock to success. Often, we need to draw on all our experience, skill, and tenacity just to keep them on track. 

How many deals have you seen blown up over a buyer or seller making an irrational, emotional decision?

You need to be the voice of reason, the psychologist, and the fixer. 

And don’t forget to check your own emotions at the door! Oh, I know. Sometimes you want to tell Agent Jerk-Face to take a flying leap and stuff his offer where the sun don’t shine.

But you’re a professional, right?

During my full-time career, I prided myself on navigating (almost) every offer through to a firm sale, even when the other agent couldn’t put together a deal to save their life. 

Sometimes I had to sacrifice my own ego and make an incompetent agent look good! I would stand on my head to stitch together a deal for my clients, whatever it took.

Let’s take a look at the three crucial ingredients you need to keep more deals together:

Tenacity

You’ve got a problem; you find a solution. Tenacity is an absolute must-have trait even to consider being a REALTOR®. 

Unfortunately, I see way too many agents give up way too quickly, “Oh well, nothing we can do!” 

Ugh.

Experience

They say nothing beats experience. I agree. And I disagree. 

There’s no doubt that you accumulate wisdom over time, usually by doing a lot of things wrong!

On the other hand, you can avoid many hard lessons by learning from others. 

After all, it’s not the experience itself that matters; it’s what you learned from those experiences. 

This brings us to the last and most crucial ingredient in the Recipe for Keeping Deals Together:

Skills

Every great agent has an extensive toolbox full of skills, and they know how to use them.

Some agents think they have everything they need in their tiny toolbox. But, unfortunately, if they can’t fix the problem with their crescent wrench, screwdriver, and hammer, the problem doesn’t get fixed. 

“Oh well! Nothing we can do!”

They’re dead wrong, of course. A great agent with a bigger toolbox could have fixed the problem, just as a skilled mechanic can fix a problem on my car that I can’t fix.

Tenacity and experience are essential. But improving your skills is where you will make the quickest and most dramatic improvement in generating more deals and keeping more of them together. 

Some ingredients are more important than others.

Do you remember when you were a new agent and how fun it was to be out with buyers looking at properties?

I still have that! Here are the two main reasons it’s so much fun for me:

1. I like people – all kinds, all ages, all walks of life – and I thoroughly enjoy meeting and spending time with them and chatting about all sorts of things, not just Real Estate!

2. I like looking at properties – all kinds – even the junkers! Sure, it’s amazing when we get to see a super-cool listing, but sometimes it’s great fun to laugh about the weird and ugly ones, too!

The truth is, out of ALL the different tasks we do every single day, there’s nothing I’d rather be doing than showing properties to clients whom I like and enjoy being with. It’s FUN!

If you don’t feel the same, that’s an awful shame!

I was talking to a newer agent the other day, and she was lamenting the fact that she had buyer clients who “just couldn’t make up their minds.”

I asked her how many properties she had shown them.

“Seven.”

Wow. Big hairy deal! This agent needs to change her attitude and start enjoying the experience. 

A little more discussion revealed that her main focus was to collect a commission cheque… As Soon As Possible.

I’m here to tell you if that’s your focus, your clients can sense it and you’re probably self-sabotaging. What you really need is a major attitude adjustment—not a commission cheque.

If you’re thinking, “Easy for you to say, Ted,” that’s a fair statement, especially if you are struggling financially.

But, bear with me, please. Continuing from the topic from the last two weeks – mindset – I’m going to repeat my favourite quote one more time:

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

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Near the end of his life in 1955, this was advice that Einstein gave to a young man who asked him what he should do with his life.

What I take from that quote is that success naturally follows if you concentrate your energy on doing an excellent job for your clients (rather than chasing after commission cheques).

I’m not saying that you should just suck it up, and show your clients a hundred properties, and stumble around at their beck and call. ‍

That’s not being a person of value!

If you genuinely want to create value, you need to be willing to learn and master new skills around setting proper expectations, taking charge in a natural non-bossy way, using your time effectively, and guiding your clients through the process with effective systems and procedures, so they will feel eager to pull the trigger when the time is right.

If you’re a newer agent, try to adjust your mindset to learn something from every property you show, and every experience you have interacting with clients. This increased knowledge will pay off in the future, even if you’re not collecting a commission cheque right away.

I’m still learning every day. What about you?

Ted Greenhough,

Agent Skills, Corp.

For as long as I’ve had my Real Estate license, I’ve been hearing all about “the next big thing” that’s going to change Real Estate forever.

Mostly, it’s been about The Internet in one form or another and different technology companies figuring out how to make us obsolete.

Hogwash, I say!

I have not wasted a solitary second of my life worrying about this nonsense. Why you ask? Because technology can replicate tasks in a predictable pattern. But when was the last time you can remember two Real Estate deals going exactly the same way and exactly as predicted?

If you’re a great agent, you have absolutely nothing to worry about!

There will ALWAYS be a need for a highly skilled and knowledgeable Real Estate agent, one with a human brain and heart who possesses the ability to think through unique and complex problems and devise creative solutions.

On the other hand, if you’re average (or worse), go ahead and continue worrying.

“Average” in my market means you completed 5-6 Real Estate transactions in the last year. I’ve noticed this statistic is relatively consistent across North America.

The truth is the “technology threat” is real if you’re not providing something to your clients far beyond “average.” In fact, if you’re average (or worse), you’re the reason these threats exist!

The public is tired of paying thousands or tens of thousands for a service you are woefully unqualified to provide.

But, do my clients bat an eye when I tell them what I’m charging? Nope. They appreciate that they’re getting a highly-skilled professional to walk them through a complex process and one who has a proven track record of delivering exceptional results.

No robot will ever replace me or any agent like me.

So, stop worrying about things you have no control over, and start focusing on what you can control—improving your skills and becoming an irreplaceable agent.

Ted Greenhough,

Agent Skills, Corp.

“Word of mouth” is BY FAR the most effective advertising there is, and it’s FREE.

But WHY exactly do people recommend you? And, why not?

People recommend you because it makes them look good.

It means they have 100% confidence that you will provide the exact same level of exemplary service and results to their friends and family that you provided to them.

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

On the other hand, if there was even one tiny part about their experience with you that wasn’t top-notch, your chances of getting a referral diminish dramatically.

That’s because nobody wants to take the risk that you might make them look bad. Just a tiny bit of uncertainty goes a long way towards NOT getting referrals.

You can ask, but…

You don’t get referrals by asking. You get them by deserving.

You deserve to receive referrals when you provide an exceptional Real Estate Experience from start to finish. You continually improve your knowledge and skills and systems and procedures, and you focus on delivering the very best experience possible for every one of your clients.

If you focus your energy in this way, you will build a flourishing business with a never-ending stream of repeats and referrals. This is not only immensely personally rewarding, but it’s also the most profitable and efficient way to run your business.  

The secret is your mindset, as discussed last week in The Most Powerful and Enduring Business Philosophy Ever Devised.

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

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When you provide your clients with the correct information at the right time, when you have proper systems and procedures, when you are proactive rather than reactive, when you know what to say and how to say it in different situations, you will dramatically improve the value that you provide to your clients.

When you do these things, success (and referrals) naturally follow.

Once you have the right mindset, Real Estate gets far easier and way more fun.

If you’re a regular reader, you’ve probably noticed something distinctly different about me compared to other Real Estate coaches or trainers. 

Here it is boiled down to the bare-bones core:

Almost every other trainer or coach teaches how to PURSUE business, but I teach how to ATTRACT business.

It’s a fundamental distinction because you cannot do both. Why? Because whichever choice you make, you need an “all-in” level of commitment to create real success.

I’m genuinely in awe of REALTORS® who have the discipline to “work the phones” for 2-3 hours every single day. I could not do it. 

But you’ll never hear me say that “working the phones” isn’t a legitimate Real Estate business model. It absolutely is! ☎️

It’s just not for me, and we’re all different, right?

I made a cold call once in my life, hung up the phone, and swore I’d never do it again. Instead, I figured out various strategies to ATTRACT business, primarily by adapting skills and systems I had acquired in my previous business career.

Some people think I had the advantage of a gigantic circle of influence when I started. Not true!

At the start of my career, I had zero clients and zero prospects. But I made myself busy studying what worked and what didn’t, devising and implementing new systems and procedures, and ultimately, transforming myself into a Real Estate Expert. 

Then I learned how to demonstrate my newfound knowledge. And, it didn’t take long to prove I was on the right path. Starting from nothing, I earned $590,000 in my second year.

I’m not saying it was easy. It wasn’t! In fact, once the snowball started rolling, the volume of business was overwhelming at times. But over the years, I learned more and more strategies on how to cope with a large volume of business, and more importantly, how to keep it coming, consistently, without ever chasing after a cold lead!

Throughout my career, I concentrated on improving my skills and adding new systems and procedures, constantly focused on creating excellent relationships and outstanding results.

Simply put, my success was based on the most powerful business philosophy ever devised:

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When you consistently deliver superior results and exceptional service, the business naturally flows your way. Word-of-mouth is BY FAR the most powerful and effective advertising there is. 

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So, how exactly does a person create an amazing word-of-mouth business?

There’s certainly no one thing, and I always tell people there are no magic pills. But if I had to name one over-riding principle, it would be this:

It’s the MINDSET of genuinely caring about delivering exceptional results to each client.

You can’t fake this stuff! Either you genuinely care, or you don’t.

If you do, then you will naturally take steps towards improving your customer service and results. And when you do that:

The commission cheques take care of themselves.

One more time, I’ll quote someone massively smarter than me:

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

By the way, if you don’t have this mindset to start with, I can’t help you!

Just as “making your calls” doesn’t work for every agent, neither does the Agent Skills Master’s Program. The prerequisite is the mindset described above.

To be more specific and give an example, check out last week’s RAM (Real Agent Memo) on how to massively improve communication with your listing clients: The 2-Part Permanent Solution to the #1 Complaint in Real Estate.

I strongly recommend you read that post one more time.

Now ask yourself: Have you ever seen this type of “in-the-trenches” recommendation from any other Real Estate trainer or coach? No?

And yet, it’s fundamentally important to your business, if you want:

• happier clients who feel cared for,
• more sales, and,
• more referrals. 

Admittedly, this single strategy on its own takes time and commitment to follow through, which is WHY you cannot do it if you spend 2-3 hours on the phone every day “prospecting!”

There are not enough hours in the day! So, as I said, you need to make a choice.

All it takes is a leap of faith to switch your focus from PURSUING business to ATTRACTING business. 

I did it, and there’s absolutely no reason you can’t, too! 

Work on your skills, and your systems and procedures. Take care of your clients. The money will come. I guarantee it.