You Hold the Key

The world is constantly changing. There's new things to learn, new people to meet and new things to do every day. It can be a bit overwhelming if you let it. Yet always remember that you hold the key.

Do you listen to the media? Do you watch television? Are you engaged with news shows (local, national or international), documentaries, sports, knowledge based shows (Discovery, National Geographic, etc.), sitcoms and dramas or do you just bury yourself in trashy reality shows?

Are you trying to stay up to date with all that "social media" provides? Are you engaged in Facebook and Twitter? Do you try and share relevant content and engage in two-way communication with your friends and followers or are you simply more of a listener or voyeur?

Do you read blogs? Do you participate in on-line discussions on topics that interest you, inspire you or maybe even challenge you?

Are you leveraging video to reach your clients? You need to be watching them, sharing them and creating them to get in front of more people.

Have you upgraded your technology so you're using the newest phones, cameras, computers, tablets and navigational devices?

The world is constantly changing. Are you changing with it?

I urge you to take the key that you hold in your hand and open your mind to some of the new possibilities that are in front of you.

Instead of waiting for the "old days" to return, start moving outside of your comfort zone to try new things.

Rather than do things the way you've always done them, seek help from someone who seems to have a grasp on a new technology or tool.

Expand your network so you're constantly building new relationships, solving new problems and having fun in different ways.

The future is bright. You've just got to be willing to turn the key that will open the door to some awesome possibilities.

The Power of Chocolate

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

It's amazing the inspiration you can get from a good piece of chocolate, isn't it?

I was sitting on the patio this weekend after a tasty grilled burger, just enjoying the cooler temperatures and sunshine. I had some tunes on the Sirius Satellite Radio and was sipping a cold beer when I decided to have a few pieces of chocolate for my dessert.

We have a package of the Dove Caramel Milk Chocolates and if you've ever had a Dove candy, they're good. They also have a simple little quote or thought on the inside of each wrapper. Sometimes it's a corny statement while other times it really hits you as a good thought, idea or concept. Tonight's wrapper inspired this blog post, not so much for me, but hopefully for you, the Realtor's Toolbox Reader.

"You should charge for your great advice."

That's it. That's all it said.

Pretty simple and straight-forward but so, so true when it comes to a commission sales business like real estate (or mortgage, title, insurance or many of the other occupations that read and follow this blog).

Are you charging what you're worth each time you have a chance to "agree to terms" with a client? You should be.

I've had some interesting comments with some of our newer sales associates who seem hesitant to charge a full commission to their clients, almost as if they haven't earned the right to ask for a full fee. I really believe it all starts with the salesperson believing in themselves. Believing that they are truly worth whatever the fee is that they are charging. If you don't think you're worth a full fee you can rest assured that no customer will think it.

You bring tremendous value to today's real estate transactions (which have become harder than ever to get from beginning to end) and that's what your fee should be based on - value. It's been said that "in the absence of value, price will always be a factor," so make sure you are constantly striving to show and deliver value to your clients. Otherwise, the lowest bidder will usually get the call.

New doctors don't charge less for their medical advice or procedures and new pilots don't charge less to transport you from one end of the country to the other. Neither should you.

Remember what the all-knowing candy bar wrapper said - "You should charge for your great advice."

Get out there this week and start building relationships, solving problems and having fun. Every time you do one or all of these with or for people you know or somebody new, you're laying the foundation of value you one day will be able to provide them.

Success, like chocolate, tastes great.

Unwrap your success today.

What Realtors Can Learn From Tom Sawyer

What's Your Reason to Reach Out this Month?

Realtors are always looking for good reasons to reach out to members of the sphere of influence lists which might include clients, friends and family.

If you really need a reason for a phone call, an email, a Facebook message, a tweet on Twitter, a text, a direct mail campaign, a hand-written note or a personal visit, here are a few you might be able to use in June.

• Fishing for leads? June is Aquarium Month.
• Reward your most recent referral giver with some chocolate. June is National Candy Month.
• Trying to find out who might be moooooo-ving? Got Listings?
  
  It's Dairy Month in June. get out there and start milking some of those relationships. First call, then go see 'em. Get it? Cal-Ci-Um?
• Squeeze in a few more calls each day - It's National Accordion Awareness Month.
• Looking for the purr-fect reason to "cat"ch up? How about National Adopt a Cat Month?
• Prospecting is part of any good agents healthy diet. It makes sense in June because it's National Fresh Fruit and Vegetables Month.
• June 1st was Dare Day - I dare you to knock on that FSBO's door.
• June 1st was also Flip a Coin Day. Heads you call expireds. Tails you call past clients.

• June 3rd - National Doughnut Day. Bring Dunkin Donuts Munchkins or Tim Horton's TimBits to your local firehouse or school teacher's lounge.
• June 6th - National Yo-Yo Day - Explain to your clients that it's normal for the market to be going up and down.
• June 14th - Flag Day? Quit waving goodbye to opportunity that is passing you by. Get out there and show your colors.
• June 18th - Go Fishing Day. Gotta get up early if you're gonna catch a good lead today.
• June 18th - National Hollerin' Contest Day. Might be a perfect time to work on that short sale negotiation with the lender.
• June 22nd - National Chocolate Eclair Day - They say the cream rises to the top. Are you filling your pipeline with valuable leads?
• June 23rd is National Pink Day - Those must be the clients who don't have a lot of equity but aren't completely in the red either?
• June 25th - Log Cabin Day. Hold an open house and show off the great craftsmanship of your newest listing.
• June 26th - Beautician's Day - Send out "Top Ten Ways to Prepare Your Home to Sell" fliers to local for sale by owners.

• June 28th is Paul Bunyan Day. I think the person who keeps "chopping wood" (i.e. making calls) will be the biggest story around town at the end of the month.
• June 29th - Camera Day. Post some local photos from around your town on Facebook and have a "Name the Place" contest. Post a new photo every hour from 9-5 and make the last one a local happy hour spot. Invite your followers to meet you there for a cold drink on you.
• June 30th is Meteor Day. People need to always be prepared so reach out and provide them with a "How to Make My Home More Energy Efficient Checklist." 

Sure, this might be a corny blog post but you've got to appreciate my sense of humor. After all, it is Turkey Lovers Month.

What will you do to reach out to your fans in June? Share an idea or two below and get to work building relationships, solving problems and having fun.

Why Wait?

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

It's been a while since my last post. In fact, I didn't even make an effort last week.

Now, of course, I have an excuse. Don't we always have an excuse?You see, I really was busy with some things that we had going on at the company so I just didn't have the time to sit down and plan out a blog post in my mind.

Have you ever "been there and done that"? You have plans to do something proactive in your business but you spend the week being reactive. You allow other things to get in the way and you begin to justify why you didn't get done what needed to be done?

We don't attend a company event or training session because we "might have a buyer" that needs help that day.

We skip making calls one morning because we're waiting for a home inspector to call us about a walk through.

We cancel a coaching session with our manager so that we can prepare for a listing appointment that is a week away.

Procrastination is the friend of failure

There is an old Spanish proverb that says "Tomorrow is often the busiest day of the week," and I think it may just be true. We allow procrastination to get in our way because that's the easy thing to do.

Our exercise and health can wait until tomorrow. We'll just run more on the weekend or we can start eating healthy next week.

Our financial decisions aren't thought out the way they need to be because it's often easier to spend based on impulse instead of planning and foresight.

We fail to spend a proportional time of our week engaged in business development activities and instead we hide behind the business support activities because they are usually easier and don't involve any challenge or adversity. (Managers - are you focused on the "business development" activities that will help your office's bottom line? Recruiting, retention and agent development?) 

So what will you achieve this week. Instead of completing a "things to do" list, why not create a "make it happen" list. What can you "make happen"? Instead of saying you are "going to do" something, believe that you're going to "make something happen."

Why wait? I think now is a perfect time for you to take that next step closer to success.

Get out there now and start building relationships, solving problems and having fun.