So here we are, saying good-bye to 2017 and look to the coming year with hope and anticipation. Honestly, I can’t help but to think it’s going to be an excellent year. The question, then, becomes: How do I (I meaning you, me, anybody) make it a better year, or at least have it be as good as we’d like it? For me, the answer has always been clear: OPTIMISM!
Happy New Year! As we say good-bye to 2017 and look to the coming year with hope and anticipation, I can’t help but to think it’s going to be an excellent year. The question, then, becomes: How do I (that’s you, me, anybody) make it a better year, or at least as good as we’d like it? For me, the answer has always been clear: Optimism. It has been said that… Read More »2018 and Optimism As a Choice
Today I booked a course for February. That’s sales. The class may or may not happen. I may or may not get paid (mostly according to whether or not it happens). That is sales. Sales brings in the income, keeps the bills paid, brings home the “bacon,” so to speak. Periodically, I sell. The more I do it, the more I make (sort of). It is rare, however, that I… Read More »Sales and Branding: Short Term and Long Term
Three major changes have occurred at the Council of Residential Specialists, effective January 1, 2018. Here they are: 1. Requirements for becoming or maintaining the position of Certified CRS Instructor have been revised. 2. CRS has implemented a designation maintenance requirement for the coming year. CRS Designees are now required to take 2 hours of CRS Education within a calendar year, in addition to paying their dues, to maintain their… Read More »CRS Changes Designation Requirements
We never know exactly when any given market might change. If you pay close attention to the numbers, you might see some of the telltale signs. Monitoring inventory (supply) is always a great way to see one of the most important movements in the market, as is watching demand (sold properties). The Sales to List Price ratio can show a lot too. Your familiarity with your marketplace, no matter how… Read More »When the Market Changes…
If you had an email marketing campaign in 1998, chances are your had somewhere between an 80-90% open rate. Today you would be considered OUTSTANDING if your rate was one-third that. Times have changed and it’s not that your emails are worse than before. The problem is that people get more emails than ever and most are extremely tired of it. According to textrequest.com, the average email user receives 88… Read More »Dos and Don’ts of Email Marketing
Value Proposition: Yours/Mine We chat a bunch in the real estate business about the concept of Value Proposition. So what is a Value Proposition? And why is it important? Well, first things first, according to Wikipedia, it is “a promise of value to be delivered, communicated, and acknowledged.” Okay, but that doesn’t really tell me enough. I like this one from the good people at Kissmetrics.com: “a believable collection of the most persuasive reasons… Read More »Do You Have a VP?
The first quarter of the year has seen me teaching a bunch of listing courses. As a result I have had the opportunity to share with a great many established listing agents as well as a large group of future ones. While the challenges of focusing on listings are many, the best place to begin is with your mindset. So, what is the listing mindset? First, the mindset begins with… Read More »Creating the Listing Mindset
I was watching a video yesterday and someone used the word, siempre. Siempre, in Spanish, means always. Siempre. What a great word. Always is the way you are consistently: not erratic, unpredictable, uncertain. So it got me thinking about the always in the sales world. The result? Five always, five things you could always do and they could lead to success, and maybe even happiness. Five Always. Cinco Siempre. First,… Read More »Cinco Siempre
In the days of my Great Grandpa Blackmer, if you wanted to chat with someone, you had to see them, as in really SEE them, in person. You rode to the next town, knocked on their door and paid a visit. Then, Alexander Graham Bell gave us the telephone. The phone was a great way of contacting people, building relationships. Easier on the horse too. The problem with the phone… Read More »10/1/2/3 A Facebook Plan to Connect