If you're new here, you may want to subscribe to my RSS feed. Thanks for visiting!
-
Enable Dreams: #145 of “The Little BIG Things” for REALTORS
The old standard axiom for sales-customer communication is “F.O.R.D” , which stands for ” Family, Occupation, Recreation, and Dreams”. The idea is simple. Most people are willing to speak to most anyone about those subjects. Unfortunately, “Dreams” comes at the end, but is maybe the most important of the four.
In Chapter 145 of “The Little BIG Things”,Tom Peters mentions the book by Matthew Kelly, The Dream Manager. The book makes the case that everyone has Dreams. They form the focus of our future, give us a direction in which to proceed. Family, Occupation, and Recreation are now, Dreams are the future, our reason to get up every day and work not just for today, but for tomorrow.
Dreams allow you and me to reach for something better, an improved version of whatever we are today.
TIP: Are you helping your customers (clients) realize their dreams? Do you know what their Dreams are? Have you written down your Dreams? Remember your purpose as a REALTOR®. It is to help people achieve their housing objectives (Dreams?) and receive compensation for your successful efforts.
Are you Leading, Following, are just staying out of the way?
What about your dreams? Stop and consider those dreams right now, then note them on paper (or some kind of Smart Device). If you do not have Dreams of a better tomorrow, your today will be rather dismal.
Create a Cathedral: #144 of “The Little BIG Things” for REALTORS
From Tom Peters:
“Organizations should be..
..no less than cathedrals in which the full and awesome power of the imagination and Spirit and native Entrepreneurial Flair of diverse individuals is unleashed in passionate pursuit of Excellence”.
As Peters says- “cathedrals is a big word”. The usage not being in the religious sense, but in your human potential.
What do we lose daily by not realizing our best potential, even for just part of the day? Are your using your imagination, or are you stuck in the rut of the daily circumstance. Are we looking for solutions in the context of what was, and not in the context of what could be? Are we passionate about us, those we meet, our story, their story, our company story?
The choice is really yours, for no one can “order” you to be passionate.
BUT-
-without passion and a desire to reach for excellence, then what are you doing? Excitement and success comes directly from embracing your own self, and making the most of every day.
Try, please, (PLEASE, PLEASE) to embrace the imagination of the 4 year old, before society educationally homogenized the 5 year old into a First Grader.
TIP: For most REALTORS®, the past few years have been difficult. At least some of that difficulty is self imposed, a reflection of our unwillingness to address the market as it is, rather than how it was. As many people are discovering, the sales process is difficult, requires training and practice, and does not guarantee instant results. The potential benefits are, however, enormous. How is your training and practice regimen? Not training? Reluctant to practice? Then you are not respectful of your own “cathedral”, nor the “cathedral” of those you work with, and not living up to your potential.
Love Your Competitors: #143 of “The Little BIG Things” (for REALTORS)
Tom Watson Sr. (IBM, back when) had many rules to ensure the best operation of his company. One of the many “Golden Rules” was “never bad-mouth a competitor”. For Watson, such a misdeed was a firing offense. One of the many really fast ways to destroy your credibility is to attack your competition.
- OK-so most all of the political ads you can see on TV are designed to “bad-mouth” their opponent. Is it any wonder we have no respect for our political leaders.
Tom Peters, writing in Chapter 143 of “The Little BIG Things” could not agree more. Complementing your competition makes you look good, and generally stops any more discussion about your much loved competitor. Winning is not about destroying someone or something else, it is rather:
- offering a remarkably better product
- creating deeper relationships
- maintaining a great reputation
- building up your industry
TIP: In tough times, reach out a bit and help a competitor now and again.
The Enemy!: #142 of “The Little BIG Things” (for REALTORS)
Tom Peters offers a quote from Howard Mann, and a short story from a former Netscape V.P., both of which hit the following: focusing energy on how to respond to your competition takes that energy away from your customer effort!
Why think about, talk about, obsess about, your competition? They will do what they do. Instead, spend that energy and effort on how to better serve your customer. Then your competition can worry about you, if they are still in business.
The most important people in your business are your CUSTOMERS! As Tom Peters would say – PERIOD.
TIP: reconnect with EVERY client and possible client connection that you have communicated or done business with over the years. Ask how they are, and what they are doing in their life. Those connections will generate business, and is a great use of your time and energy. PLEASE, thank them for speaking with you.
Our Housing Crises, and how to FIX It!
It’s the Economy
This morning I received the normal updates from my favorite lenders advising me as to why the interest rates are going up or down (I forgot which way, because it doesn’t matter), and telling me they will keep me up to date with changes based on bond market reaction. I am very appreciative of this information, and do not meant to slight anyone’s effort, but the difficulty with the housing market “is not about the interest rates“.
I read a great article in the Inman News this morning written by Jack Guttentag, Professor Emeritus at Wharton, discussing the real issues behind the housing crises, at least the financial policy issues. So, with credit to Professor Guttentag, here is my take on the issues and the solutions:
1. More important (by a hairs width) then housing policy is the employment policy. This may come as a shock to many, but people that are unemployed do not buy houses, and generally cannot keep up the mortgage on a house they may already own. People that have limited money to buy the necessities (food!) are much more concerned about eating than universal health coverage. With 1 in 10 Americans not working, another 1 in 10 underemployed, and all of those 2 out of 10 people affecting at least 2 or 3 other voters, it is little wonder why we have political unrest.
2. Housing policy, which is really a mishmash with the housing finance policy, is a shambles. Such fascinating mandates like the HVCC, the conversion of Freddie and Fannie to a federal slave, underwriting guidelines that demand 720 credit scores or better to create or refinance a mortgage, and the virtual elimination of mortgage securities competition (the only 3 players are Chase, B of A, and Wells Fargo) have basically removed the investor and small business owner from the mortgage market.
Repairing the Damage
Simply put, we will not repair anything until such time as the national political agenda moves from redistributing wealth through social policy and toward embracing the basic economic issue of employing people by producing goods and services. As James Carville told Bill Clinton – “it’s the economy stupid”.
Eliminating the HVCC would be good. The Feds should consider creating a new mortgage lending corporation and fold Freddie and Fannie into a new entity with somewhat relaxed underwriting rules and a new charter. Make certain the FHA is healthy and can offer loans without draconian credit standards.
None of the above is to say we should ever go back to the great mortgage give-away days of 2005, but we should get the pendulum of the mortgage business back to the center. An economy that is built on the premise of obtainable mortgages and housing cannot survive long without a functional housing and mortgage system.
People Serving People: #140 of “The Little Big Things” (for REALTORS)
Any organization is about people serving other people. Tom Peters offers the following definition:
- An emotional, vital, innovative, joyful, creative, entrepreneurial endeavor that maximizes individuals’ growth and elicits maximum concerted human potential in the wholehearted service of others.
While Peters acknowledges that his definition is a “bit high stepping”, he continues on by defending every word. So, do we want to infuse our job with emotion and vitality? Can a work day be joyful and creative? Are we all about us, or all about others? Should we not be about both?
Your endeavors, both alone and as a group, club, organization, or corporation should be aimed at achieving great and noticeable results. Peters offers the word “mind-blowing”. If you or the group are not trying to make every effort special, then why not? Is mediocre OK? Are we collectively too tired and beat up to put forth the effort to make a true an beneficial difference with our efforts? Is survival enough?
Look around you. A few folks are beginning to move past survival, or never stopped their efforts to excel. How about you? Where do you really want to be 1 year from now?, 3 years from now?
TIP: Develop a 2011 business plan, marketing plan, and weekly work plan. If you do not know where you are going, and have a daily plan to get there, you will be in 1 year, exactly where you are right now.
Accountability Partner
First used in the 1960′s in weight loss programs, the term “Accountability partner” morphed into use with entrepreneurs. The difficulty faced by the REALTOR entrepreneur is the often times prospect of going it alone. With the recent recessive economy, most members of our society have confronted at least some difficult and exhausting moments, with REALTORS not excluded. As our economy begins the slow recovery from the recession, how will you confront the changes necessary to prosper and experience a rebirth of success?
A few weeks back, this blog discussed the idea of employing a coach and seeking out a mentor. An accountability partner is another option that is less costly than a coach, is easy to implement, and can fill the role of a mentor as well. When seeeking an accountability partner (AP), look for the following:
- Someone you trust. You will expose at least part of your business and work plan to an AP.
- Someone in the same general field of work.
- A fellow entrepreneur.
- It is a partnership, so the process goes both ways. In effect, you are coaching and mentoring each other.
- Someone that does not directly profit from your success. The partnership should be unbiased but supportive.
Of course there is a bit of process and required commitment. Scheduled meetings are necessary. A plan of work is required (derived from the overall business plan, the work plan is a weekly or daily subset of the things required to accomplish the plan). Goals must be established and shared. A written or digital expression of both partners goals, plans, and work description must be created, and a simple system of accountability must be devised and adhered to.
Your accountability partner is not a competitor, probably not a spouse or loved one, and certainly not the boss or supervisor. The idea is to uplift, not put down; encourage, not criticize; attend to, not ignore. For an AP to work, it must balance a bit of commitment and time with out offering restrictions or an overzealous attitude. Balance and support is both the key and the goal.
Common Sense: #139 of “The Little BIG Things” (for REALTORS)
Not So Common Sense
My grandmother spoke often of common sense, not so much my mother. I remember the phrase, and to some to some degree, the meaning: Everybody knows that or not to do that (whatever that is). Everybody meaning common. Like its pretty good common sense to not walk in front of a moving bus. Or, touching a hot stove burner will burn your fingers. I am not sure what happened from my grandmother’s time to my mothers time, or why we don’t hear the phrase much anymore, but somewhere common sense became very uncommon.
Somehow, a large number of people in this planet lost sight of the common sense of borrowing money, and took out loans on houses that made no sense at all, except for the wall street traders that were making huge commissions on creating money out of thin air. I could go on, but by now, most people probably get it. If not, you aren’t reading this anyway.
Tom Peters offers a great idea that might be good for all us that have lost touch with common sense (that is most us unfortunately). When working through the big job problem, stick the solution in front a buddy that has nothing to do with the problem or a vested interest in the solution. Buy them a couple tickets to a baseball game as a thank you, and ask them what they think of your solution. It is absolutely guaranteed that their perspective will add some common sense to whatever you are trying to solve.
This probably works for REALTORS as well as any other job group. Make it a point to ask a few of your close friend what they think about the issues our present market is grappling with today. Listen carefully. The answers may give you a an edge you never thought of.
The Fair Housing Act prohibits discrimination in housing based on color, race, religion, national origin, sex, familial status, or disability.Presented by Larry D. McGee, CRB, CRS
The Berkshire Group Realtors
3801 E. Florida Ave., Suite 400
Denver, Colorado 80210
303.350.5838 Office | 303.314.1436 DirectCopyright © 2010
Theme by: Custom WordPress Site Design