Archive for August, 2008
Aug
07
Think Big Goals and Big Models
Posted by: | CommentsWe’ve covered a lot of distance as it relates to having written goals, removing your self-limiting beliefs, the benefits of modeling and being proactive.
Many times when coaching agents about their goals I find they have a tendency to set goals based on where they are and where they have been, instead of where they would really like to be. Worse than that. They tend to think in terms of what they perceive to be unreachable for them and set their goals somewhere below that level.
The saying goes “If you always do, what you always did, you’ll always get, what you always got”. Change is imperative if you want to grow. Millionaire Real Estate Agents are “Change Masters”. They set extremely high goals, create strategies to achieve them and measure their progress on a weekly basis. And, most importantly, change or adjust what they are doing in order to get the results they seek. They don’t review their progress once a month or once a quarter, that allows too much time to be off course before making a correction. They “Shorten the String”.
What if you were reviewing what you do on a monthly basis? You would make changes 12 times per year. On a weekly basis you’d make 52 changes per year. Which method of review do you think would place you further ahead at the end of the year?
Reaching high levels of production and income is not as difficult as agents think. If you know how. Almost every agent I have ever coached came to me with the belief that you have to work your way up, that it will take many years of hard work to reach a high level of success. Well that just isn’t true.
In his book “Winning Through Intimidation” Robert Ringer addresses the Leap Frog Effect.
This book, and Napoleon Hill’s “Think and Grow Rich” made a major impact on me my first year in real estate. The Leap Frog Effect basically contends that you do not have to work your way up the ladder – you can just choose to jump past the middle and go to the top.
I know you’re probably saying to yourself, “Ya, Right! Bill’s nuts. If it was that easy, everybody would do it”. So let me address why everybody isn’t doing it:
They don’t know what to do.
They don’t know how.
They have self limiting beliefs.
They don’t have wrtten goals.
They can’t THINK BIG.
The agents with whom they associate discourage their growth.
They do not have or understand the MODELS to follow.
They don’t understand the value of having a coach.
The list goes on ….
If you want to Leap Frog your career, you only have to understand and model the habits of top producing agents. You have to THINK BIG, change your current habits, MODEL the routines of top agents, discipline yourself to stay on course, and review your progress frequently.
Agents who have taken my eight week “Success Series” training are always amazed at the results they achieve by the end of the program. It’s an accountability and coaching program that encourages you to view your career from a totally different perspective, set goals and review and adjust weekly. Typically agents more than double their production in just eight weeks.
The real estate industry is undergoing dramatic changes and most agents and brokers don’t even realize that it’s happening. In 5 years this business is going to be dominated and controlled by a much smaller number of very serious agents who run their businesses like a business. If you plan on being one of them, you’d better learn how to THINK BIG GOALS and MODELS.
As always, if you have any questions or would like to discuss anything, feel free to give me a call.
Best wishes for a profitable and productive day,
Bill Wagner
609-432-8005
billwagner@kw.com
Aug
07
The Virtues of Listing
Posted by: | CommentsLet’s discuss the second part of the real estate success triangle (Leads, Listings and Leverage). LISTINGS!
We’ve all heard it, “If you list, you last”. I tell new agents that if they don’t have a listing they’re unemployed.
Everything starts with a listing. It gives you the ability to accomplish and implement many other actions that will generate more leads and income. Put up a sign and get name recognition, do an open house, contact neighbors, place an ad and get calls, get a lead from your website, and on and on.
Listings many times can mean two or three commission sides. Your seller buys another house from you. You get the buyer for their house. Oh, and maybe that buyer has a house to sell.
There’s one thing that I’m absolutely sure of, you’ll never become a Millionaire Real Estate Agent if you’re not a great listing agent. You’ll never become independent unless you have inventory. “You can’t sell apples from an empty cart”.
How many calls do you think a real estate company would get if it had no listings? Right, none. The company would be out of business. Now I want you to face reality. You are a real estate company. Your earnings are really dependent on your own abilities, actions, initiatives, knowledge and skills. The more listings you obtain, the higher your income. But the truth is, a very small percentage of agents in our industry are truly great listing agents.
Great listing agents don’t have a lot of listings in inventory at any given time, they have a lot of sold listings. They have the knowledge and skills to make sure that they right price their listings. A listing that is priced right is sold when you walk out the door.
There’s a higher rate of pay from listings. It’s estimated that you make $300 to $400 per hour for the time you have to invest on a listing and about $150 when you find a buyer a home. And you get a written guarantee that if you get it sold before the expiration date you get paid.
So now we’re in a real estate market that is going to become controlled by the highly skilled agents. If you’re not investing a significant amount of your time in training and skill building, you’re not going to survive the next four or five years. There is no more order taking. If you continue to operate the way you have in the past your life is going to become very stressful. You’re going to have a lot of unhappy sellers. And that’s not fun.
We went through a very good market for a very long period of time. Any agent could take a listing and the market conditions would compensate for their lack of knowledge and skills. Not so now. When I look at the year to date production levels of top agents from all different companies I see strong examples. For instance, one top agent has 29 listings in inventory, but only seven sold listings year to date. You won’t remain a top agent for long with that type of performance.
Most agents think they know everything they need to know. Well I’ll tell you of what I’m certain. “You don’t know, what you don’t know”. I’ve spent thirty years in this industry and survived markets far worse than this. I know where the bodies are buried and I know what it takes to capitalize on the great opportunity this type of market offers the education based agents The market of the past is gone and the market of the future is going to humble a lot of previously successful agents.
Agents are complaining about this market. Let me tell you, this is a great market. In 1979 there was a usury ceiling in New Jersey of 8%. Lenders could not charge more than that. Well the market hit 9.5% and the only way to get an 8% mortgage was to buy down the rate. Could you get your sellers to pay 12 points? I did, and my listings were selling.
In 1981 interest rates hit 18.5%. Do you think that might cause you a problem today. Well I was still selling houses.
Knowledge can provide you with incredible opportunities. You better commit to gaining as much knowledge as you can if you want to survive the coming changes!
Best wishes for a profitable and productive day,
Bill Wagner
609-432-8005
Aug
07
The 9 Ways Millionaire Real Estate Agents Think
Posted by: | CommentsSo what most seperates the Millionaire Real Estate Agent from the rest of the agents in the industry? The ways they think! The ways they think create and support a very strong belief system. The saying goes – “You become what you think about the most”.
They also recognize that there are specific areas or categories of there business that require continuous thought and attention. They constantly think to improve what they do and how they do it.
There are nine areas of focus. The first two create the foundation of their belief system and the other seven are supportive.
1. Think Powered by a Big Why (I previously discussed the Big Why)
2. Think Big Goals and Big Models
Setting Big Goals forces you to look for Big Models to emulate. Modeling someone who is already achieving at the level you want to reach allows you to progress much more rapidly because you don’t have to learn from your own mistakes. I’ll discuss this further in a future post.
These are essentially the foundation of their Business Plan and belief system.
The last seven areas of focus on the strategies they use to support the achievement of the first two.
3. Think Possibilities
You have three choices in the way you think. Nothing is possible, something is possible and anything is possible. Why is it that so many people tell their children that they
can do anything the set their mind to and yet their own belief system is so limiting.
4. Think Action
Once you decide and set your Big Goals don’t over-think them. Get yourself in motion and start moving ahead. You can make the necessary adjustments as you go. General George Patton is credited with the quote: “A good plan implemented immediately is far better than a perfect plan never executed”.
5. Think Without Fear
Don’t worry about obstacles and failure. I once had an agent that was fearful of making cold calls. I observed him dialing numbers and when someone would answer he would freeze and hang up. (This was before there was caller ID). I went to another area of the building, called the office and when he answered, I said NO! and hung the phone. When I walked up to his desk he had a puzzled look on his face. I looked at him and said “That’s the worst thing that can happen to you”. He went on to become very proficient at cold calls and became one of my top salespeople.
6. Think Progress
If something doesn’t work, you have learned that you have to change and try something else. You can’t fail unless you quit. Remeber that success is in the numbers. The more times you try, the closer you are to success. Persistence rules.
7. Think Competitively and Strategically
When you get up in the morning are you approaching your day as if you were playing a game? Better yet, do you realize that you get to make your own rules relative to what actions, systems, lead generation, marketing, etc. your going to utilize in order to gain an advatage over your competition? You need to make what you do everyday chalenging and fun. Your business will take on a totally different life of it’s own.
8. Think Standards
Have you set standards of performance for yourself? The level of service you’ll provide to your clientele? If you plan on growing your business you need to have very clearly defined standards that you can easily communicate to the the people you hire to help you take you to the next level. You need to be able to hold yourself and others accountable to always meet or exceed those standards. You have to be able to inspect what you expect.
9. Think Service
You better get a handle on this! When I am coaching agents who are growing their businesses, the agents who have been in the business for 10 or more years are quick to confirm that the consumer of today has much higher expectations from their agent than what was acceptable even 5 years ago. You have to continously be looking for ways to improve the level of service you deliver or someone else will.
If you’d like to discuss the 9 ways to think in more detail, feel free to give me a call.
Best wishes for a profitable and productive day,
Bill Wagner
609-432-8005
Aug
07
The 8 Goal Categories of the Millionaire Real Estate Agent
Posted by: | CommentsThe one thing that all Millionaire Real Estate Agents have in common is that they set clearly defined goals, and more importantly, they measure their progress toward achieving those goals weekly. By monitoring progress frequently they never allow themselves or their teams to stray very far off course and necessary corrections are quick and easy.
Let me also be clear that MREA‘s put their plans in writing! They have incorporated their goals into both their Formal Business Plan and their Strategic Plan. They run and take btheir business seriously. Business, Strategic what? Your Business Plan is where you want to go. The Strategic Plan identifies specific actions(strategies) you are going to take, systems that you will put in place, etc. that will move you continuously toward meeting the objectives set forth in your business plan.
One of the common characteristics of highly successful people is that they are intensely goal-oriented. Successful people know where it is that they want to go in life, and they have a clear plan to get there. Their “roadmap to success” is the list of goals that they have written down.
Goal setting is certainly not a new concept. We have all heard about the importance of having goals. For example, we know that Olympic and professional athletes have goals, and constantly strive to achieve them. Amazingly though, less than 3% of the population has a written set of goals. Furthermore, less than 1% reviews their goals on a regular basis.
Oh, and coincidently… (NOT!), less than 1% of the agents in our industry are Millionaire Real Estate Agents.
So what percentage are you in? Are your goals in writing or are they just wishful thinking? Are you continuously measuring your progress?
Why have written goals?
1. Written goals increase your odds of success.
2. Written goals increase your motivation to achieve them.
3. Written goals build self-confidence.
4. Written goals provide clarity of purpose.
5. Written goals move you steadily toward your goal.
Take time now to put your goals for the balance of 2008 in writing and mark your calendar to take time weekly to review your progress. (Don’t put this off) Most real estate agents don’t invest the time needed to put a plan in place. If you continue doing what every other agent is doing (not writing down and reviewing their goals) you’ll be just as unsuccessful as the rest of the 80% who are not making a living.
Remember also that all plans require some lead time to implement. So you should have your 2009 plans completed by the end of October.
The link below shows the categories that MREA’s set goals to meet and measure continuously.
Best wishes for a profitable and productive day,
Aug
07
Real Estate Fiduciary vs. Functionary
Posted by: | CommentsHave you seriously considered the way you conduct business? Do your actions and words truly support your fiduciary obligation to the buyers and sellers with whom you work? These specific duties include: Loyalty, Obedience, Disclosure, Confidentiality, Reasonable Care and Diligence, and Accounting.
To me our obligations are Black and White. If it’s not in the client’s best interest don’t do, don’t recommend it, and don’t say it! Even if it means the loss of a commission! As an industry we are placed in a position unlike any other professional. Other professionals with fiduciary obligations bill for their time and get paid regardless of the outcome. We only get paid if the transaction completes.
I believe this causes many in our industry to think and deal in shades of GRAY. Have you ever heard an agent let it slip that their seller over at 123 Main Street is having financial troubles? That’s a breach of fiduciary. I’m sure can think of many more instances when a breach has taken place. You can’t let this happen to you!
So how can you continuously remind yourself of your obligations and increase your success with your clients? Stop being a salesperson and conduct your business as a consultant and an educator. Review your role as a fiduciary with every client!
In order to be afforded the opportunity to work with a buyer or seller, they need to like and trust you. I have yet to find a better foundation to build a relationship upon than to start by reviewing your fiduciary comittment to them. It will greatly increase their feeling of trust in you.
In several of my training classes I stress to agents that they take the time to fully explain how they conduct their business. This differentiates them from other agents the client may be considering. Very few agents do this.
Use the linked comparison below to continuously remind yourself of your obligations and quickly gain the trust of your prospective clients.
Best wishes for a profitable and productive day,
Bill Wagner
609-432-8005
Aug
07
The Foundational Model of Real Estate
Posted by: | CommentsI’m going to push the envelope this week. We’re going to step outside the box. What Box? The box you wake up in eveyday. Your comfort zone. The box that keeps you doing the same things day after day.
So today we’re going to pretend you have no limitations. We’re going to pretend you can accomplish anything you choose. Today you’re going to think like a Millionaire Real Estate Agent. And how do they think?
Think a Million
Earn a Million
Net a Million
Receive a Million
These top agents have moved past their self-limiting beliefs. They realized that because other agents did it, they can also. They realized the value and importance of increasing their knowledge and the value of modeling. What is modeling?
Modeling is finding someone who is achieving at a certain level and realizing that if you were to duplicate their efforts and actions exactly, you would be able to duplicate their results. So let’s break the elephant into bite-sized pieces. What would you have to do?
The average sale price in our market place is about $280,000. If you were working for a 100% company and receiving 3% on each side of a listing sold or a sale, you would earn $8,400 for each closed side.
In order to earn $1,000,000, you would have to close 120 sides. Now I can tell you from 30 years experience that about 1 of evey 3 clients you work with will give you 2 sides of business. In other words, you list their house and they also buy a house from you. Or, you obtain them as a buyer and they list their house with you. Two commissions, one client!
This means you are going to have find and work with 90 clients per year to gross a million dollars. That’s less than 2 per week. I know that all of you are capable of working with 2 new clients per week. So the issue becomes finding them. Lead generation.
Now I’m going to reduce this to the redicules. When I ask agents in various training sessions, how often people move on average, we always can agree on every 7 years as a consevative, realistic number. This would then mean that 1 in every 7 people, with whom you come in contact, will be moving in the next 12 months. Fair enough?
That means you have to meet and converse with 630 new people per year. That’s less than 2 people per day. And if only half of the people you meet were willing to do business with you, you would still only have to meet 4 new people a day.
So every morning when you wake up, get dressed, drive down to the supermarket, stand outside the door, introduce yourself to 4 new people and ask for their business. It won’t take more than 20 minutes.
Think about it and have a great week!
Best wishes for a profitable and productive day,
Bill Wagner
609-432-8005
Aug
07
The Six Real Estate MythUnderstandings
Posted by: | CommentsLet’s discuss the common beliefs that stand between you and high achievement. The Six MythUnderstandings are what you most often hear as excuses from real estate agents. They are real estate specific but are representative of larger overall mindset issues.
You are where you are today because of choices you have made in the past.
The first step in changing your mindset to that of a high achiever is to accept responsibilty for the decisions and choices you have made or will make in the future.
The second step is to commit to making a conscious effort to change your primary thought processes and change your patterns in the way you think. You have to accept and acknowledge that in reality that YOU CAN DO ANTHING IF YOU SO CHOOSE!
Now you need to begin changing the negative thought patterns to positive. You need to change your SELF-TALK. You know, those conversations that all of us have in our minds(and sometimes out load when we’re alone).
The third step is to control outside influences. Do not associate with, or at least limit, your exposure to negative people. I like to tell my agents “AVOID TOXIC PEOPLE!”.
Fourth is to make a list of “:future tense” positive affirmations describing the person you will become. i.e. I am a Top 50 Agent, I take and market 50 listings per year, I send my children to top colleges, etc. Read this list to yourself 3 times per day.
As always, if you have any questions give me a call.
Bill Wagner
609-432-8005
billwagner@kw.com
Best wishes for a profitable and productive day,
Aug
07
The 3 L’s Model for Real Estate Success
Posted by: | CommentsWhen we consider which Models to follow, there is only one model that could be considered the base foundation for all other models in our industry. The 3 L’s model.
Leads, Listings and Leverage.
Leads
Let’s pretend for a moment that you were receiving 50 new leads every week. Do you think you would have a problem making 100′s of thousands of dollars per year. Come on now, be honest, that’s 2600 new leads per year. Having a large number of leads will allow you to be much more selective when deciding with whom you will spend time. You’ll be able to spend your time with only the most motivated Buyers and Sellers.
Listings
You have got to obtain listings. You can’t sell apples from an empty cart. You’re basically unemployed if you have no listings. Listings start the whole cycle rolling. You put up a sign, it generates leads. You place an ad, it generates leads. You conduct an open house, it generates leads. The biggest issue you need to address? You need to make sure all of those leads get to you and make sure you have the necessary skills to convert them to appointments.
Leverage
As you begin generating a larger amount of leads you need to systematize how you will handle and prioritize them so you maximize your time and your earnings. What systems and processes can you put in place that will allow you to be more efficient and leverage your time. At some point, if you are following a solid model, it will be time to consider hiring an assistant to further leverage your profitabilty.
So what are you going to do to improve you lead generation? What systems and processes will you initiate to generate a massive amount of leads?
As always, if you have any questions give me a call.