When Fear Keeps You Down...Get Up!

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.

In the shadow of the anniversary of 9/11, I felt this was a great quote to share...not just because of the meaning for those of you in the real estate business but also anyone of you who enjoys the "American way" in general.

"We learn by courageous action going forward whenever fear urges us back. A little boy was asked how he learned to skate. 'Oh, by getting up every time I fell down' he answered."

~ David Seabury, How to Worry Successfully

• How does that statement apply to your career?

• How does that statement apply to your life?

In real estate, like in life, you're going to get knocked down far more than you're going remain standing tall. Are you willing to get up every time?

There is no doubt that in your career you will be rejected more often that you will be selected so decide now if that will make you or break you.

Are you ready to say that "nothing will keep me from building my business" or will you take the easy way out and say "I'll wait for business to come to me."

If you get knocked down, stop pointing fingers, belly-aching and making excuses. Get your ass back up and start marketing solutions to the necessary people that can help you win the "game."

The time is right to start building relationships, solving problems and having fun.

Why are you still just sitting there? Success starts bright and early.

Get your ass up!

This Guy Really "Gets It"

With all the scandal and negativity swirling in college football and the NCAA, it’s always nice to hear a young man who is appreciative of where he is and respectful of how he got there.

If you haven’t seen this speech by Michigan State Senior QB Kirk Cousins from the Big Ten Media Day events earlier this season, do yourself a favor and watch this 7 ½ minute speech.
If you don't see the video below, click here






I have never claimed to be a Michigan State fan and probably will never be one, but I will root for this kid to succeed in whatever he chooses.

Something tells me he’ll be successful on the football field, in the classroom, in is future career and in his personal relationships.


I would be honored to have my daughter Riley marry a kid like this someday.

Good luck Kirk Cousins and your Michigan State Spartan teammates. May you all have a successful season and have many opportunities to build relationships, solve problems and have fun.

What the "Eff" Are You Doing?

I spent the day today at a really cool event called Agent ReBoot. It was a pleasant mix between harnessing technology to better adapt to today's changing landscape in real estate and how to better utilize all the tools, systems and people that are out there that can provide some help, guidance or assistance.

The event was brought to Columbus by Inman News and featured some of the best speakers in real estate today including Chris Smith (Chief Evangelist for Inman News), Darin Persinger (Productivity Junkies), Steve Pacinelli (Tech Savvy Agent and Move Inc.), Sherry Chris (Better Homes & Gardens Real Estate) and Tracy Weir (Chief Marketing Officer of Inman News).

I was honored to have been invited to join a panel discussion - Social Media Insights - Making the Smartest Investment of Your Time along with fellow Central Ohio Realtor Toby Boyce where we shared our thoughts on how, when, where and why real estate agents may want to utilize social media sites like Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and blogs to build better relationships and possibly increase their success and their income.

If You're Going to "Eff Up" Your Business, Choose Wisely

While all of today's guests shared tips, tricks and tools to help today's agents become better at what they do, I think everyone who attended today (or any other event like this at their local branch, board or association) needs to move forward with one main question in mind.

The question is, "are you aiming to become more efficient or more effective?"

They are definitely not the same.

Efficiency sounds great because most people think if we become more efficient, we can get more done and if we can get more done, we'll close more deals and if we close more deals, we'll make more money. Sure, that might be true, but I could be really fast at entering data incorrectly or I might only take ten minutes to deliver a poor listing presentation to potential clients but have I necessarily gained anything from inaccurate data or business I didn't get?

Efficient, yes. Effective, no.

Effectiveness also sounds wonderful. Effective seems to be when the activity we are doing delivers the end result we were hoping for. We all love to find tools and systems that are effective but if these tools and systems take us an extraordinarily long time to get from start to finish, how did that help us build our business in the long run? Could we capture more (or better) leads in the time it might take us to effectively meet a customer using passive forms or business development? Would you feel successful if you helped 100% of the clients you worked with get to the closing table if you only got to the "promised land" 4-5 times this year? How much time would be spent doing redundant tasks just to insure no fall through occurred?

Effective, perhaps? Efficient...probably not.

I don't have any specific answers and my guess is you don't either, but I do think it is sometimes good to slow down and re-evaluate what we are doing before we just keep going down the road because "that's how we got there last time."

Perhaps as you begin to analyze what you've done this year and start to draft out some 2012 plans in your head, you should start to look at where you can improve efficiencies and where you can deliver more results.

What would you say if you could develop a system that allowed you to build relationships, solve problems and have fun quicker and better than you ever have?

My guess is you'd smile and say "Eff yeah! Sign me up!"

All Work and No Play...

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.


Are You Game?

Real estate is a competitive business. Everyone is out there trying to find the next seller or the next buyer who might have a need they can help fill. Our listings need to be strategically positioned so they garner more traffic and attention from the buyer pool. We want our client's offers to be the one accepted instead of the other potential buyers submitting offers. We love to have more friends and followers on the major social networks and we seek to increase subscribers to our blogs. Even though it isn't really a contest, it's kind of neat to grow our Klout, become a Mayor, or earn "likes" from people.

With over 310 million people in the United States and slightly over 1 million members of the National Association of Realtors (actually 1,024,863 as of the end of July), that means there are approximately 302 people for every licensed member.

Why would the next consumer pick you?

While it may seem like a rhetorical question, it certainly is something you should be thinking about all the time. What are you doing each day to increase your odds that one of your 302 will call (or refer you) because no one should be naive enough to think that everyone doesn't know (or at least know of) more than one real estate agent.

How you choose to approach your business this week might come down to how serious you are about achieving success. And when I say "serious" I am not talking about how focused or dedicated you are. I'm talking about the "furrowed brow, never smiling" type of serious that people don't like to be around. Mark Twain once said,

"Work and play are words used to describe the same thing under differing conditions."

So perhaps instead of "working" so hard to find clients, you could challenge a fellow agent this week to "play" a lead generating game. Make it simple. Start calling prospects at a designated time and the first person to secure an appointment earns a point. The first person to three points wins ___________________ (insert something fun here - lunch, cocktails, ice cream, etc.)

Maybe you could invite your current Seller who is in desparate need of a price reduction to a game of "The Price is Right." Drive him/her around to see some competing listings and ask them to tell you what they think they are priced at. Imagine some of their surprised gasps from the passenger seat.

Hey Managers! Isn't now a perfect time of year to kick off a listing contest? Get your people focused on building their inventory. It's never a bad time to have more signs in yards. Maybe a For Sale by Owner blitzkreig? When did you host your last "Dialing for Dollars" night?

How about having some fun with your Open Houses? I heard of one agent getting creative with multiple opens on one day and attaching a "check-in" contest on the geo-location network FourSquare to build buzz and generate traffic.

All Work and No Play...

It's kind of neat to see what could happen when you start building releationships, solving problems and having fun without all the pressure of "work" hanging over your head. Look at everything you do this week and try to figure out a way to make it fun.

What kind of games do you like to use to help you stay focused on business development activities instead of allowing the work of business support activities to drag you into a "No Fun" zone?

Would You Drop What You're Doing?

Can people count on you?

Are you a willing to do what it takes to help the team?

Would you do something outside the scope of your work knowing it might not get you any credit, attention or recognition?

How do you feel going outside of your comfort zone?

You know who will do this?

Kathy will do this.

I don't want to use Kathy's full name because I know she wouldn't want the publicity. That is not the reason she came to my aid today when I was 30 minutes from starting a continuing education class and I realized I was missing the VGA cable that connects my projector to my computer. 

For those of you who might not know, the VGA cable is the cord that allows the audience to see the presentation from the computer via the projector. Not to be overly dramatic but it is kind of an important thing when you're teaching a class so that the audience can see your presentation.

I needed to find a way to get a cable or I wouldn't have been able to teach this class as effectively as I would with a full visual presentation. When I called in to my office to find someone who might be able to help, no one really seemed to feel the "urgency" of my dilemma. My former training coordinator was out of the office and another staff member got disconnected when we were talking. I didn't have time to play telephone tag. I needed to find a way to get a cord or a new projector to this location in 30 minutes or less and sadly, Domino's doesn't deliver technology.

The office is about 17 minutes from the location where I was teaching so it wasn't possible for me to return to get a cable and get back in time. It had to be a team effort.

"Who else is there," I asked the receptionist?

After a slight pause, I just said "Is Kathy there?"

Dependable People Never Say "That Depends..."

"Hey what's up?" was all Kathy said upon being paged by the front desk.

In a panting voice with a hint of desperation, I explained my dilemma and urgency and just said "can you help me?"

There was no hesitation. There was no "well, I won't be able to do it right away." There wasn't any sound in her voice of "oh crap, why did he call me?" 

"Don't worry. I'll be there right away," was all Kathy said.

I hung up and exhaled deeply.

To the Rescue

The registrants were arriving and the empty seats were filling up. Attendees were scanning the handout in anticipation of an on-time start. I was pacing near the front door trying to look relaxed and ready to teach. With 4 minutes to spare before the beginning of my class, Kathy arrived with not just one projector but two...just in case.

We powered up in seconds and kicked off the class with some high fives. It was time to "Get in the Game."

How Do You Stand Out?

There are over 300 million people and a little over 1 million Realtors in the United States. When a random person wakes up tomorrow and needs real estate services, will they call you? Will their co-worker or neighbor think of you? Odds are that they know at least one other Realtor so what would you need to do for your name have that "top of mind" awareness? 

If one of your Buyers or Sellers called you tonight and needed something answered, provided or explained, would you reply?

Can your former clients expect a return call or follow up in a timely manner?

Are you comfortable reaching out to leads referred to you by clients, friends or fellow Realtors?

Will your family sit back and relax knowing that you will do what you said you would do?

Do you build relationships, solve problems and have fun in such a way that people know you care?

Can people count on you?