88 to Make it Great

Monday Morning Match is a short post - maybe a quote, inspirational story or idea - intended to spark some motivation inside of each of you so your week gets off to a fantastic start on Monday morning

Today is Monday, October 4, 2010. It's the 277th day of 2010. Counting today, there are 88 days left in 2010.

Have you already mailed it in and started to look ahead to the new year, hoping it will be better, easier or more fun? Or are you getting your ankles taped so you get stay in the game in the fourth quarter and play until the final gun sounds?

Win or lose, are you going to give it your all and make a game of it?

There is no doubt that it has been a challenging year in real estate but here's a simple fact -There have been Buyers and Sellers exchanging properties every business day of the year. On the majority of those deals, a Realtor was involved.

Was it you?

Have you studied the numbers for your local market? I just looked at some data from the Columbus Board of Realtors. Did you know that from January 1 through August 2010, there have been 14,082 sold listings in the Columbus MLS? That equates to 28,164 sides. (A 9.2% increase compared to 2009)

How many were you involved with?

Stop...Make a Decision

• Stop getting caught in the trap of saying that there is no business out there. If you're saying that, maybe you should add "...because I haven't been looking for it every day." Get out there and make an introduction to someone who needs you.

• Stop getting caught in the blame game of saying that lenders and appraisers are making it too hard to get deals together. Make sure you understand what is expected of your clients ahead of time.

• Stop procrastinating on your daily prospecting. There are Buyers and Sellers out there waiting to find each other. Get out there and make a connection.

“People are always blaming their circumstances for what they are. I don’t believe in circumstance. The people who get on in this world are the people who get up and look for the circumstances they want, and if they can’t find them, make them.”
- George Bernard Shaw

There are only 88 days left in 2010. Make the decision today that you will make the efforts each and every day to make building relationships, solving problems and having fun a priority.

Make it happen.

Make it a great day.

Make it start....today!

You Don't Have To Know Everything!

How's the Market?

Chances are, if you're a real estate agent, you've been asked that question a million times. But do you have a standard answer? My favorite that I learned from real estate trainer and friend John Hamilton goes like this.

"It's challenging, but there are lots of opportunities. All I/we need right now are a few more ____________________"

The ___________________ can be filled in with whatever I might need right now. Listings in the entry level price point? Buyers in the mid $200K range? Builders for some new land I just acquired? I control the message of "how's the market?" now, not the media.

Just the Facts, Ma'am

I am a huge advocate of real estate agents being up to date on their current market at all times. I think it is critical that agents feel comfortable discussing market conditions and confidently being able to share current inventory levels, price points, days on market and any other standard points of interest.

How do you do that? By running daily hot sheets in your MLS system. You should be looking at the new listings that have hit the market, price changes, pending sales, homes that have been cancelled or expired and any other piece of information that jumps out at you.

Then what?

Reach out to your Sellers and update them on what this means to them. How is the marketing position of their home affected if their neighbor just reduced their price by $5,000? What will happen to the Buyer traffic if three new listings hit the market in the neighboring subdivision?

You might identify a new listing in the same area where you just sold a home to a buyer. What a great reason for a call.

"Hey Mr. Jones, this is Sean Carpenter from Coldwell Banker. How are you? I promised when we worked together that I would keep you up to date on the happenings in and around your neighborhood so you can always be aware of your home values.

"There is a new listing that just came on the market one block over and it's priced at ___ and has ______. Of the people you know, who do you think might be the next person to move?"

Simple call, isn't it? I already have a relationship with Mr. Jones because I worked with him and his family to purchase the home he's in. I now have a "reason to call" that provides him with valuable information and it might lead to a referral opportunity.

You Can Be The Source of the Source

Information like you find on MLS Hot Sheets, at your local board of Realtors web sites (click here for a sample of what the Columbus Board of Realtors offers) or Local Market Reports from the National Association of Realtors becomes ideal material to distribute to your email data base, print out for local open houses, share on your social networking sites or even post to your blog.

The new reports from NAR are really neat and you can access them for 150 different markets so in addition to your local markets, you could leverage out of town relationships, referral opportunities and be more knowledgeable with those Buyers coming in from another area.

Check out the reports here and start finding ways to become the "neighborhood expert."