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!

It's Your Turn - What Are You Gonna Do?

Some people will turn up their sleeves...

Some people will turn up their noses...

Some people won't turn up at all.

It's your turn.

What are you going to do today?

Time for the Big Push

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




As we near the last quarter of the year, it's time to make a final push to finish off strong. It's time to stop worrying about what happened in the first nine months of the year. There's nothing that can be done about that because it is in the past. You can't do anything to change what has or hasn't occurred but as you know, how you react will determine what happens next.

“If the door to success is marked pull and still won't open, ignore the sign and push.”

• There is business out there waiting for someone to grab it.

• There are For Sale By Owners who will throw up the white flag this week and decide to list with a full-time Realtor.
  
  


• There are Sellers who's listing has expired who desperately need to sell that just might finally see what needs to be done with their asking price - or perhaps they need a professional like you to help them learn?
  
  


• There are clients of yours sitting in their home and they haven't heard from you in weeks, months or maybe even years.

• There just might be some Sellers of yours who are finally ready to reduce their asking price?
  
  


• There are new relationships out there waiting to be built.
  
  


• There are problems out there waiting to be solved.
  
  


• There is plenty of fun out there waiting to be had.

“If the door to success is marked pull and still won't open, ignore the sign and push.”

Playing the "Game" in St. Louis

It's always fun to stand in front of a receptive crowd and deliver a message you believe in. It's even better when that crowd gets engaged with your message and anxiously awaits the opportunity to put the ideas, concepts and lessons into action.

I had the pleasure of being a part of the Coldwell Banker Gundaker Mini Convention in St. Louis, Missouri earlier this week and it was one of those fun events that, although you leave exhausted, you know you helped contribute to a successful event.

The concept of the day was "The Games We Play" so as a huge sports fan, it was an ideal theme for me to be a part of. CB Gundaker's Director of Training, Kim Daugherty and his awesome team of Sandi Collins and Traci Coronado did a great job of planning and coordinating a tremendous agenda which included a day full of breakout sessions and panel discussions. CB Gundaker President Jim Dohr and his team of managers did a great job of encouraging a great crowd of associates to spend their day with us and hopefully we didn't disappoint them.

In my keynote session, "Get in the Game ~ How to Score Big in Real Estate and Have a Ball Doing It" we discussed many things that Realtors need to do to earn small victories and come out a winner at the end of the day. Here's a few thoughts for those who weren't there and a reminder for some of our new Toolbox readers who were there.

The Power of the "High Five" - Don't be satisfied attending any session and aiming to learn just one new thing. That's setting the bar too low. Always aim to learn five new ideas that you can implement into your routines that will help you raise your game

People Don't Want the Regular, Boring Announcement - In today's "vanilla" world, the person so stands out gets remembered. What can you do each day to be different? Look how this Southwest flight attendant didn't allow his passengers to have a forgettable flight home.



Who's in the Game? - The "data base" is macro and your "bulls eye" is micro. Somewhere in between is your main book of business. Do you know where your victories need to occur to get in the playoffs?

It's All About the Fans - You need to create a KuLT-like following

Develop a Strong Pre-Game Routine - Major League ball players call it "basic training" for a reason. The World Series is always won by the team that can run, throw and catch better than the others. Remember what I say B.A.S.I.C stands for in real estate - Brainstorming, Activities and Scripts to Increase Closings.

"I skate to wear the puck is going to be, not where it has been"

~ Wayne Gretzky

Are you a "Five Tool" Realtor?

Will the Instant Replay come out in your favor? Today's consumers are demanding video. Are you getting in front of the camera or falling behind the competition?

It's a Numbers Game - Do you know your market statistics and personal sales results as well as you should to be considered the expert? Gamblers don't take their profession lightly so they study the numbers. Are you willing to bet your success on inaccurate or unknown information?

Losers say… “If I don’t try, I can’t fail!”

Winners say… “If I don’t try, I can’t succeed!”

The choice is yours!


Thanks CB Gundaker. Good luck the rest of 2010 and into 2011. I'll look forward to seeing you all in the Winners Circle.


Until next time...keep building relationships...solving problems...and having fun!

I'm Certainly Not Trying to Be "Mean" But...

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.



I've been working with my sixth daughter Riley a lot this school year on her math homework. So far, in addition to some review of things from last year, we've been spending time focusing on lists of numbers to identify the mode, the average, the mode, minimums and maximums.

While it may seem like an easy concept for adults, it still can be confusing for an eleven-year-old.

As I continue to review, practice and repeat these math drills with Riley so she can earn a high grade in the class, it had me thinking about some of the "easy" concepts for real estate agents and people's efforts to "earn high grades."

• How many hours do you put in compared to your competition?


• How many calls do you make a day to "develop new business"?


• When someone drives by one of your broker's yard signs (even if it's not your listing), do they think of you?


• Are you following up with your clients and bulls eye list of advocates regularly?

How Far Do You Have to Go?

“Don't be content by being average.
Being average means you are as near to the bottom as you are to the top.”

So this week, make one more phone call than you planned.

Schedule one more appointment than you have on your calendar right now.

Send one more hand written note to a client.

Run one more mile on your morning run.

Don't settle for average. You're better than that!