The Personal and Professional Power In Journaling

Wade Webb on April 17, 2019

For the past 15 years I have a collection of black, hard cover books with pages and pages of personal and professional ideas, thoughts and insights I have captured along my own personal and professional journey.

So many of my coaching clients ask me about my journals and why do I journal all these years? The benefits of journaling are countless. People who journal every day experience better mental health, heightened productivity, lower stress, increased clarity and a greater sense of peace.

Strategic journaling leads to substantial happiness and fulfillment – a frame of mind that is worth striving for daily! As a Coach who has worked exclusively with entrepreneurs and professionals for well over a decade, I have used the process of journaling from the very beginning in order to help agents realize personal and professional transformation and achieve dramatic improvement in their relationships, their career, their health, and their overall well-being.

This week I have shared journaling strategies below to make your journaling efforts more effective. Keep in mind, however, journaling has no boundaries, no requirements and no rules. This is just a guideline to help point you in the right direction!

DUMP – Maybe you’ve just gotten into a fight with someone important. Maybe something bad has happened at work. Or maybe you’re just stressed out over a bunch of things. Something is going on in your life and you’re feeling it on an emotional level. Journaling invites you to write about the event, what happened and how you feel about it.

Dump #1– Express all of your thoughts and opinions.

Dump #2– When you think you’re done, keep going. Get it all out of your system and write even the stuff you would never, ever share with another soul.

Then when you’re completely done, unload it. Unload all your frustration, your anger, your fear, your anxiety, your pissed off-ness, whatever it is. When you’re done unloading, write the following line: “It’s time to turn myself around.” At that point, you want to stop dumping. You want to dump the dump. In other words: “I’m done dumping. I’m finished with that, and I’m ready to head in a new direction.” To head in a new direction, we can start answering questions like, “What do I want to do about this problem or situation? How do I want to view the world from this point forward? How can I move forward from here? What would I rather have?” Once you generate some answers to these questions, you’ll feel much clearer, more powerful and more at peace.

You are asking yourself. “How Can I Apply This Strategy?” Nicole Sachs journaling expert shared we ALL have so many incredible things we want to do with our lives. We seek to improve our businesses, our health, and our relationships with loved ones and with ourselves.

The bottle neck is we carry a whole host of narratives that do not fit or equate with the lives we would LOVE to lead. Use your journal to just unload, to dump it out and to write it down: “Here’s what’s going on, here’s why it creates this type of emotion, this is why I’m stressed or overwhelmed,” etc.

ASK, “WHY NOT?” – What’s stopping you from achieving a particular goal or living the life you desire? Write down every single reason why you believe you cannot have what you want. It could be you don’t think you have enough time, money, energy, experience etc. Then…write a challenge for every item on your list. Look at each individual item and ask yourself, “Is that true?” For example, do you really not have the resources necessary to get what you want, or are you simply expending too much time, money and energy on other things? Asking yourself questions like this allows you to identify your limiting beliefs and build the muscle necessary to overcome them.

BLUE SKY – Allow yourself to daydream. If anything were possible, what would you want your life to look like? Dream big and stretch the boundaries you tend to place on yourself, or eliminate them altogether if possible. Create the wildest, most crazy vision you possibility can. When you take the time to visualize yourself in that big, wild, expansive place, you experience a massive mood shift and begin to believe it’s possible to get there. Your dream becomes something you can actually contemplate instead of being something unattainable and/or designed for someone else more capable or deserving.

LISTS – Write down lists of things you want to do, people you want to network with, places you want to visit, characteristics you’d like in a partner, etc. If you find yourself crunched for time, you can even make a list of things you would like to journal about later on. This is a GREAT way to capture your thoughts and ideas in the moment, and you can refer back to these lists later to help guide you.

GRATITUDE – There are times in my life when I am feeling down about life and business. I worked with someone who suggested I write down a list of 10 things I was grateful for 10 times a day for a week. That’s 100 things, per day. I thought that was mildly excessive, but I did it anyway. This exercise changed my fundamental DNA. All of a sudden, I was only focusing on what was good and right in my world. I didn’t have any room left for what was getting me down − I flooded my system with gratitude. As a result, life and work became fun again! So, what are you grateful for? Write what you’re grateful for each day, or write every single awesome thing that comes to mind right now. If you’re stumped, consider this − do you have a place to sleep, clothes to wear and food to eat? Write it down!

DEVELOPING A PLAN – Do you have a great idea? Journal about it! What’s the idea? What are the steps involved in bringing the idea to fruition? What do you need to do? Who do you need to talk to? What are the action items? This could be in regards to anything − a business project, a party theme, a move to a new city, a weight loss regimen, etc. This kind of journaling invites you to write out your plan in regards to a goal.

LETTER WRITING – Pick important people in your life and write a letter to them saying what they mean to you, why they’re important, why you value them and what you love about them. Imagine you’re on your deathbed and you’re leaving behind your deepest, most intimate and kindest thoughts for this person. This may be a little morose, but it helps to envision the assignment. Don’t hold anything back! This exercise will immediately make you feel great, and even if you never share this letter with them, writing it actually increases your intimacy with them. It turns your attention to all the amazing characteristics of the key people in your life and leaves you with a wonderful sense of gratitude and appreciation

WHAT IS MY PRIORITY RIGHT NOW? – Sometimes we lose our way. We get distracted. We get pulled away from our goals, our desires and the things most important to us. We fall off the wagon. Answering this question helps us get back on track. It redirects our focus to what is most essential to us. You can ask yourself this question in terms of your physical health, emotional health, relationships, business goals, etc., and with any given timeline. For example, you could ask yourself, “What do I want to do in terms of exercise today? What exercises would I like to do every day? How fit would I like to be in a year from now?” This journaling activity recalibrates us.

I hope some of the benefits to Journaling this week have inspired you to take up this habit and apply it to your personal and professional life. I dare you to run out and buy yourself a journal and start journaling once a day for the next 21 days and let me know what that does for you. I am excited to hear all about it!

Strength and courage,
Wade

Creating Vs Waiting

Wade Webb on October 31, 2018

Almost every week I open my email and see a last minute travel deal or an item for sale from one of my favourite brands like Under Armour even though I am not in the market for these things at that particular time. Have you ever seen an ad, read an email or read something that just grabs your attention and is such a good deal you end up buying it or sharing that deal with someone else?

I was over playing cards with friends of ours one evening and my friend shared how his car salesperson from GM had called him that day just to touch base and let him know he had this great deal on a used Honda on the lot and wanted to see if my buddy was interested in it or knew someone else who would be. I am sitting playing cards and remember my personal trainer and I were talking the past week about him getting another vehicle and I texted my trainer right then about this used Honda and the sales reps info at GM to contact if he was interested. The next day I get a text from my personal trainer saying Thanks! I bought it.

Imagine as agents if we had a consistent system for communicating the buying opportunities and best buys in real estate to our audience? What do you think just might happen? Spending a set amount of time on the MLS system daily, weekly, monthly and identifying the best buys in real estate and then sending it out via email, phone, social media and print. Branding it your “deal of the day” “pick of the week” “Your Best bets”. Sending it out saying “I have no reason to believe you’re in the market for another property but if you know someone who might be interested in the hot buy, call me!”
Rotate the product type, price point, location to increase your chances of capturing a lead. Here is a list…

Create Your Own Real Estate Market

1) First time buyer
2) Down Size
3) Move up
4) Rental
5) Recreational
6) Commercial
7) Luxury
8) Investment

We can’t just ignore this strategy in real estate and now is the time to shake things up and create real estate instead of always waiting for real estate. Implement a buying opportunities strategy today and let me know how you make out. Feel free to share and comment below some of your existing strategies.

Strength and courage,
Wade

https://plus.google.com/u/1/113259707478722993209/posts/H4qGNUfzUrw

Identify Where Your Real Estate Biz Needs The Most Help

Wade Webb on June 20, 2018

In my 25+ years of working in real estate, these five categories have repeatedly emerged as the most crucial to any REALTORS© success.

•Marketing & Lead Generation

•Lead Conversion

•Productivity Hacks

•Teams

•Coaching & Acceleration

Where Does Your Real Estate Business Need the Most Help?

Quickly… rate your business in each of these categories on a scale of 1-10:

10= Good 5 = Fair 1= Poor

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Handling Objections, Stalls and Conditions?

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Negotiation Skills?

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Closing Skills?

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Converting Prospects Face To Face Appointments?

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Buyer Counselling (consistent follow up, contact, communication)?

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Seller Counselling (consistent follow up, contact, communication)?

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Questioning Skills?

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Listing Appointment Skills?

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Buyer Appointment Skills?

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Pre Listing Package?

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Pre Buyer Package?

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Powerful Listing Presentation?

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Powerful Pricing Presentation?

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Powerful Buyer Presentation?

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Systems. Checklists?

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Lead Generation (steady stream of buyer and seller leads coming in)?

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Lead Conversion (add value, help, wow them, until they put their hand up wanting my help)?

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Lead Follow up? (Follow them up until they buy or sell average 10 months)?

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Work Life Balance?

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Leveraging. Do I do it? Delegate? Systemize Automate? Dump?

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Daily, Weekly Activity Plans?

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Finances? Personal and business. Profit?

So… Where do you need help most? And then… Where will you find it?

We all have our strengths and weaknesses. What’s easy for me might be difficult for you. But here’s the good part… We also all have the ability to learn and grow…

We just need to know where to find the right information. Agentsboost blog is jam packed with content to help you conquer these gaps. Attend a course or real estate event that can help you break through these areas that are holding you back. Coaching and mentorship is something all successful agents can appreciate the accountability and guidance has helped us all. Identify the gaps in your business and find someone or something that can help you make the rest of 2018 a game changing year!

Strength and courage,
Wade

https://plus.google.com/u/2/113259707478722993209/posts/9mXj2vMkinV

The 12 Days Of Real Estate (Christmas)

Wade Webb on December 13, 2017

On the first day of real estate my true love gave to me… Spend some focused time on your real estate database prior to 2018. If you don’t have a database then assemble one. Input names from your phone, emails, social media and client files. Take the time to build a monthly database touch system for 2018 making specific activities each month to add value and deepen your relationships with your database. This “give to get” activity is the best way to increase repeat and referral business in 2018.

On the Second Day of real estate my true love gave to me… Create an online lead generation system. These landing pages capture a seller who is curious what their current property value is or a buyer who wants to be notified of hot new listings and beat other buyers to them. Check out Prime Seller Leads real estate leads or Agentlocator real estate leads for this. A nice steady stream of buyer and seller leads from a good landing page keeps you from those peaks and valleys in your business. This is a great way to create more buyer and seller leads all year long while you are busy serving your active buyer and sellers and when you don’t have the time to prospect.

On the Third Day of real estate my true love gave to me… 2 daily hours of power prospecting and lead generation. High-volume agents don’t just service existing business and then start lead generating once they have closed the majority of their transactions. Instead, they block time (usually in the morning so it gets done) to do something each business day that gets them closer to earning a new client. In a nutshell, there are two ways to be successful in real estate: By Default: live in the same area for years where everyone knows you and eventually sends you business; or By Design: time-block a relatively small portion of each business day to proactively generate for new leads.

On the Fourth Day of real estate my true love gave to me… Listings is the name of the game. The power of the spin is where a listing can generate up to 15 other pieces of business if done right! If a real estate agent is working more than 65 hours a week and not closing more than 45 transactions annually, the agent either has a time management problem and/or is working with far more buyers than sellers. You can handle four times as many listing sides than buyer sides at the same time. So, top producing real estate agents always focus their lead generation activities on the listing side. Top listing sources are your sphere, open house, FSBO, expired or door knock looking for a bona fide buyer.

On the Fifth Day of real estate my true love gave to me… Face to Face activities like coffee, lunch, door knock, open house, kiosk, floor duty, networking, volunteering and a “pop by” are all great. We know conversion is higher when you are face to face and the prospect can tell if they like or trust you quickly and want to do business with you. Although many agents are reluctant to reach out to people.

On the Sixth Day of real estate my true love gave to me… An Agent to Agent referral system with other agents working the areas where the people and business is coming from to buy real estate in your market. Contact them once a month and stay top of mind and be that referral agent source of choice in your market area. Share tips and ideas with other agents to keep top of mind and make them feel like they want to refer you their clients moving to your area. This is a lucrative business opportunity if done consistently.

On the Seventh Day of real estate my true love gave to me… The power of words. Scripts and dialogs are important. Successful real estate agents understand whether they use someone else’s scripts, dialogs or their own, they’ll eventually start saying the same things they know will work. Using tested real estate scripts created by others simply eliminates the trial and error process and enables agents to start seeing desired results more quickly. Sound like your planned and engage and attract the clients to want to work with you with your powerful words of persuasion.

On the Eighth Day of real estate my true love gave to me… Have powerful sales presentations and visuals. Pre seller and buyer packages. Don’t tell them but show and sell them. Have a visually powerful presentation for listings, buyers and pricing. Don’t just wing it and leave things to chance but engage people to want to do business with you, your company and NOW! Talk alone is cheap. The most powerful visual sales tool is a pad and pen and being able to show prospects and tell them has greater impact than words alone. Remember some of us are visual and some of us are auditory but we don’t know which one they are.

On the Ninth Day of Christmas my true love gave to me… Know your why, purpose and vision. My goal that drives me every day is to impact and improve people’s lives personally and professionally every day. Real estate is the vehicle that makes this happen. We all need to be part of something bigger than ourselves. If your why is big enough then the how takes care of itself!! I love having a vision board with images of the things that drive me, move me, I want and need to experience each and every year. Never underestimate the power of a vision, purpose or why! Create that vision board and place it on your screen saver.

On the Tenth Day of real estate my true love gave to me… Be a servant and focus on helping others get what they want and you in turn get what you want. Listen for the need and be aware of others fears, challenges and offer to help. So as to not “bother” the general public when prospecting for new business, top real estate agents always tie the reason they’re contacting people in with providing some type of value at the same time. Always come from a mindset of contribution. Helping you is what we do. Listen for the need. Take care of people and the cash takes care of itself.

On the Eleventh Day of real estate my true love gave to me… Be a lean mean appointment setting machine. The money in sales is in the conversion to the appointments. No appointments then no presentations. No presentations means no contracts or agreements. The lead generation is great but not having the skill to convert to the face to face appointment is a real estate killer. Know what you have and what you can offer for them and engage them to want to sit down and meet with you. What is your value proposition for a buyer and seller? Why you? Why now?

On the Twelfth Day of real estate my true love gave to me… Leverage by systemization and delegation. When real estate agents consistently do not have time to prospect for new business because they are too busy servicing their existing business it’s time to hire someone to help out. The first hire should be an administrative assistant, not a buyer’s agent. Administrative assistants help agents make more money by freeing up time for agents to perform more important revenue-generating activities. 3D test everything in 2018. “Do I do it? Do I delegate it? Do I just dump it?”

I trust your holiday season is full of love, happiness and joy.

Strength and courage,
Wade

PS… Click Here to grab your free copy of the Business Plan Workbook for 2018 available from our Homepage

Please share this post using the buttons below…

https://plus.google.com/u/1/113259707478722993209/posts/hysYSB3ubaG

The Top Reasons Why You Should Buy & Sell Over The Winter 2018

Wade Webb on December 6, 2017

Knowing what the biggest objection you face over the next few months allows you the edge to be prepared when it strikes. We all know the #1 objection all agents are going to get from real estate buyers and sellers is “We want to wait until the spring.” So having the ability to change how the buyer and seller feels about waiting to buy or sell until the spring is imperative to your winter real estate success!!

Don’t try changing their minds and building their defense mechanism up but educate them and change how they think and then they change how they feel about buying over the winter instead of spring. The fact of the matter is, the reasons and myths are endless so it’s our job as REALTORS® to be equipped with facts and a strong reality check to combat these reasons we hear every day. To help you educate the consumers through the winter season I put together some of my top reasons a client would want to choose this time of year to buy, sell and list a home.

Top Reasons to Sell Real Estate Over The Winter

#1 – Only The Serious Buyers Are Looking Over The Winter
• Yes there are fewer buyers, but those buyers are usually very SERIOUS about making a purchase or many HAVE to make a purchase. Who else would want to look at buying during the winter?

#2 – Fewer Winter Listings Means Less Listing Competition
• Most sellers wait until the spring or summer to list, so your home will have far less competition
• Spring = Greater supply = Same Demand = Less Money

#3 – January Is The Biggest Corporate Transfer Month
• More corporate relocation moves happen during January than any other time of the year.
• Catch the corporate relocation buyers while you can.

#4 – Better Personal Prompt Customer Service
• By putting the home on the market during the winter you experience better, personal and faster customer service from movers, lawyers, banks, insurance providers etc. Listing realtors have more time to better serve their sellers and get all the marketing strategies in place.

#5 – More Bargaining Time to Get More Money
• By starting to market your home early, you may be able to secure a higher price with more listing exposure time. This season allows a seller to not be in a rush to sell and allow for more market exposure time and ultimately generate a higher price than in the spring.

#6 – Timing Is Everything. So Sell Now & Buy In The Spring
• If your home sells quickly, you will be able to shop for your next home during the winter, a great time to find a bargain!
• More time to look and not pressure to shop and beat the other buyers. Sell first and then buy in the spring when the inventory and selection begins to rise for you when you are the buyer.

#7 – Standing Out In A Smaller Crowd
• Most REALTORS® and offices have less inventory during the winter, enabling your home to stand out even more.
• Less marketing noise out there for the buyers and they see your home with ease now.

#8 – 20% Of Sales Still Happen During the Winter
• Buyers and Sellers are usually quite motivated to get the transaction completed. We still have 20% of the business in the year occurring during the winter.
• This can mean less price haggling and fewer hassles during the process.

#9 – Buying Without Having Something To Sell First
• By selling now you may have an opportunity to be a non-contingent buyer during the spring, when more houses are on the market!
• Less “subject to the sale” offers from buyers and you are not one of them when you are buying your next home.

#10 – No Yard Work When It’s Freshly Covered In Snow
• Great time for a home that needs a yard make over to sell.
• No need to worry about your yard work. Snow makes it look fresh and white.

BONUS…..

#11 – Buyers Time Everything Too
• Buyers begin the search and purchase for spring moves in January, February.
• Busy move times are March Spring Break, April Easter, May long weekend and July long weekends

#13 – No Pricing Wars With Others Sellers
• Less choice for buyers means less sellers to play pricing against each other
• Buyers will often make more concession in their buying decision with less choice

#14 – A Holiday Magic Feel To Your Home
• Property shows well, almost staged with holiday décor adding to the ambiance
• Tis the season for your home to shine!

#15 – Higher Quality No Looky Loo Showings
• Little chance of quick showings and not being prepared to show your home
• Easier time of year to make appointments and give sellers advance notice.
• Higher quality showings

#16 – Right Buyer, Right Time Odds
• The odds are the same for the right buyer looking at your home regardless of the season.
• Right buyer, right time, right home

My Top 10 Reasons to Buy Over The Winter

#1 – Fewer Or No Multiple Offers
• Little or no chance of multiple or competing offers for the buyer during this time of year

#2 – Better Personal Prompt Customer Service
• Better service from all service providers like the agents, banks, insurers etc. Not as busy now.

#3 – Sellers Are Motivated
• Sellers motivated at this time of year if still trying to sell from summer or fall.
· Sellers willing to negotiate, been on the market for some time now. Give and take.

#4 – Expired Listing Inventory
• Buyers can shop the expired listings market, which has the largest selection this time of the year.

#5 – Better Closing Options
• Good time of year to make an offer and do the due diligence, buyers can move quickly now or slower in the spring if not in a rush.

#6 – More Alternative Housing Options
• Easier for sellers to find alternative housing, not as much pressure finding a rental vs. the really busy spring and summer season.

#7 – Contingencies and Subject to the Sale Of Acceptable
• Great time for buyers to make contingent “Subject to the Sale” offers and get them accepted and movement on the price.

#8 – Better Available Moving & Service Providers
• Easier time for a buyer to move and find help and services like movers, cleaners, storage.

#9 – Smoother Mistake Free Completions
• Better timing for buyers on completions with lawyers, banks land registry. Not that busy and time to attend to you now.

#10 – Buyer Competition Lower
• Less competition for the same property from other buyers on the deals that pop up this time of year.

Bonus

#11 – Having More Time

Having time to make a decision and not be pressured in to offers or pressured into removing conditions or speeding up your due diligence time.

Now that you’re equipped with ammo to overcome any objection, educate the consumers and debunk the myths and go out there and list and sell some real estate this winter season!!

Strength and courage,
Wade

Please share this post using the buttons below…

https://plus.google.com/u/1/113259707478722993209/posts/318VAeBubov

Why My Listing Just Isn’t Selling?

kelowna on July 19, 2017

We are past the end of our spring market and have entered the summer market. Let me ask you this question. Do you have a listing that just isn’t selling? Or even worse, sellers are dominating the conversation because of what is happening in the media? This week I’ve got solutions for both of those scenarios so you can sell your properties faster and get your customers what they want. So why isn’t the listing selling? Write this down….. If it isn’t compelling, it isn’t selling!

Action Steps to Help Sell Your Real Estate Listings

#1 Face-to-Face Meetings

Start by making sure you are meeting with all the decision makers involved in a face-to-face meeting. When you meet face to face ask them again “Why do you want to sell?” Help remind them of their “why”, what they are avoiding (Pain) or what they are moving towards (Pleasure).

#2 Understand Their Point of View

If you don’t start by understanding your customers’ point of view, you’ll instantly be out of rapport with their perspective. Think of the things they are reading like the WSJ, Globe & Mail, Fortune Magazine, CNN Financial, and similar publications. All those media sources are saying there is no inventory! Most people only see the news story of millions of people wanting to buy homes and there are no homes for sale!

#3 Break Down The Information

Let them know the national, state, provincial and city stats versus what is happening locally in the community. Get them out of the global mindset and have them focus on what is happening in their backyard. That starts by meeting them at their perspective and world view.

Know Your Market – What makes a listing compelling in your market? It isn’t just price because most clients just hear that and assume you want to lower the price because you are an agent… Educate your client with some of the following tips.
Opportunity – Is it an opportunity problem? In my neighborhood, if a property was built in the 50’s or 60’s a builder is going to come in and scrape the whole thing and build something magnificent. Those properties are priced sometimes 3-5% above fair market value and still get 5-6 offers! This also goes for fixer uppers and residential lots too!
Exclusivity – You know those one of a kind properties! Kudos to Gary Gold and Mauricio Umansky for selling the Playboy Mansion. Other unique factors could be the designer, architect, or even the year the property was built.
Turn Key With No Competition – We all know turn-key properties are really compelling especially when there is no competition. What if there are 5 homes that are exactly the same on the inside and priced the same too? Something has to be compelling…
Want to try something different? Take your clients to see where the new homes are being built. Those companies are spending millions of dollars to win the minds and hearts of the sellers! That is the competition and they are creating compelling products for the market.
Price – Price trumps everything! Which brings us to the options for pricing your listings..3 Options For Pricing – The average agent shows the comps to the seller… Even though the seller has seen the median sales price and comps, they still want to see that bigger number! This is because they have this emotional attachment and hallucination about what the market really is… Remember if it is not compelling it isn’t selling! Show your customers these 3 pricing options…

Above Fair Market Value – Not Compelling. Talk about pricing above the fair market value, and how having a higher pricing strategy hasn’t worked so far… The data and the market have showed at their current price the home isn’t compelling.

Fair Market Value – Compelling Pricing at the fair market value is really just going off the comps. This will make the property more compelling, but there is an even better strategy…

Below Fair Market – Extremely Compelling What really makes property more compelling? When the price is extremely compelling, you create a bidding war and feeding frenzy around the property! Announce a price that is below fair market value to everyone!

The Challenge – I’m issuing you a challenge, if you have a listing that isn’t selling execute on this plan! Repackage and reposition with this strategy and let me know how it goes in the comments below!

Strength and courage,
Wade

Please share this post using the buttons below…

https://plus.google.com/u/2/113259707478722993209/posts/Sawpav9YQB9

Real Estate 12 Days Before Christmas Must Do’s 2017

kelowna on December 14, 2016

Effective Real Estate Strategies Just Before Christmas

On the First Day of real estate my true love gave to me…

Spend some focused time on your real estate database prior to 2017. If you don’t have a database then assemble one. Take the time to build a monthly database touch system for 2017 making specific activities each month to add value and deepen your relationships with your database. This “give to get” activity is the best way to increase repeat and referral business in 2017.

On the Second Day of real estate my true love gave to me… Create a buyer or seller landing page. These landing pages capture a seller who is curious what their current property value is or a buyer who wants to be notified of hot new listings and beat other buyers to them. A nice steady stream of buyer and seller leads from a good landing page keeps you from those peaks and valleys in your business. This is a great way to create more buyer and seller leads all year long while you are busy serving your active buyer and sellers and when you don’t have the time to prospect.

On the Third Day of real estate my true love gave to me… 2 daily hours of power. High-volume agents don’t just service existing business and then start lead generating once they have closed the majority of their transactions. Instead, they block time (usually in the morning so it gets done) to do something each business day that gets them closer to earning a new client. In a nutshell, there are two ways to be successful in real estate: By Default: live in the same area for years where everyone knows you and eventually sends you business; or By Design: time-block a relatively small portion of each business day to proactively generate for new leads.

On the Fifth Day of real estate my true love gave to me… Face to Face activities and prospects who already want to sell. For real estate agents looking for immediate business, top agents know the quickest conversion ratios come from contacting FSBOs (for-sale-by-owners) and expired listings. They also know conversion is higher when you are face to face and the prospect can tell if they like or trust you quickly and want to do business with you. Although many agents are reluctant to reach out to people they don’t know, these are people who typically want to sell their home right now.

On the Sixth Day of real estate my true love gave to me… A realtor to realtor referral system with other agents working the areas where the people and business is coming from to buy real estate in your market. Contact them once a month and stay top of mind and be that referral agent of choice in your market area. Share tips and ideas with other agents to keep top of mind and make them feel like they want to refer you their clients moving to your area. This is a lucrative business opportunity if done consistently.

On the Seventh Day of real estate my true love gave to me… The power of words. Scripts and dialogs are important. Successful real estate agents understand that whether they use someone else’s scripts, dialogs or their own, they’ll eventually start saying the same things they know will work. Using tested real estate scripts created by others simply eliminates the trial and error process and enables agents to start seeing desired results more quickly. Sound like your planned and engage and attract the clients to want to work with you with your powerful words of persuasion.

On the Eighth Day of real estate my true love gave to me… Have powerful sales presentations and visuals. Don’t tell them but show and sell them. Have a visually powerful presentation for listings, buyers and pricing. Don’t just wing it and leave things to chance but engage people to want to do business with you, your company and NOW! Talk alone is cheap. The most powerful visual sales tool is a pad and pen and being able to show prospects and tell them has greater impact than words alone. Remember some of us are visual and some of us are auditory but we don’t know which one they are.

On the Eleventh Day of real estate my true love gave to me… Be a lean mean appointment setting machine. The money in sales is in the conversion to the appointments. No appointments then no presentations. No presentations means no contracts or agreements. The lead generation is great but not having the skill to convert to the appointment is a real estate killer. Know what you have and what you can offer for them and engage them to want to sit down and meet with you. What is your value proposition for a buyer and seller? Why you? Why now?

On the Twelfth Day of real estate my true love gave to me… Leverage by systemization and delegation. When real estate agents consistently do not have time to prospect for new business because they are too busy servicing their existing business it’s time to hire someone to help out. The first hire should be an administrative assistant, not a buyer’s agent. Administrative assistants help agents make more money by freeing up time for agents to perform more important revenue-generating activities. 3D test everything in 2017. “Do I do it? Do I delegate it? Do I just dump it?”

I trust your holiday season is full of love, happiness and joy

Strength and courage,
Wade

Please share this post using the buttons below…

https://plus.google.com/113259707478722993209/posts/XQF6KntNSDu

How To Make 2017 Your Best Year in Real Estate Ever

kelowna on December 7, 2016

3 Reviews to Increase Your Real Estate Biz in 2017

As we head into the final month of 2016, for most of us, there will be some “downtime”. Downtime driven by both the holiday season, as well as a general slowdown of activity, especially after the first two weeks of December. This is an ideal time to start planning for 2017. I have honed a process for preparing for the New Year. There are 3 reviews you need to complete before you can set a path for growth of your real estate biz in 2017. The three reviews include your transaction history, your prospecting efforts, and your personal marketing efforts.

Review Your Real Estate Business Transaction History

Where do we start? We start with the past, we start with the review of what you’ve done financially, the actual transactions that you’ve completed, and all the elements associated with those opportunities.

Once you understand where you are, you can identify where you are going. Ask yourself, what was your average deal size last year, the year before that, the year since then? What clients did you work with? Which clients were the most attractive to you, both now and in the future? What were the average size deal with those clients provided for you? Where did you get those clients? What was the source? Was it a prospect call? Was it a website, off a lead, a company referral? Was it the same clients? Where were those clients and opportunities located? What market are you best to focus on moving forward? What product type have you really been successful for in the past and what product type is best for you moving forward?

Review Your Prospecting Efforts as a REALTOR

What was your financial goal for net income goal for 2016? Money that you take home for you and your family. That’s something we really care about. What did you achieve, and what was the goal? Hopefully it was greater than your goal. If it was less than your goal, maybe you set too high of a goal. I love goals that push you, but be careful so they don’t demotivate. How many exclusives did you secure? How many listings you got went to closings? You want to explore that. Make sure you understand some of the ratios financially of your meetings, to listings, listings, to close. Look at the numbers. Look back on your efforts last year, and see where those are. Define your average gross commission income. What was your average net commission per closing? Of the listings/representations/assignments you secured, how many were unsuccessful?

When it comes to your clients, think about your top five clients. When I say top five, people go, “Okay so these five made the most money for me, they’re my top five.” Fine. That’s how you want to define top five, look at it that way. Some say, “No, top five really means those that provided me, and will provide me the greatest opportunities moving forward.” In 2016, this may have been one deal, but it’s going to lead to more deals down the road. That’s going to be a top client for you, or a client that always gives you multiple opportunities. Same client opportunities, or refers you. All they did is one or two deals with you maybe historically, yet they’re one of your raving fans. Therefore, they’re your top client. Identify your five top clients based on your parameters.

Finally look at your prospecting efforts. Prospecting is a disciplined act of asking for business. Think about what you did to specifically ask for business. Look back at some of the quantitative, and qualitative aspects of your prospecting. How many prospecting meetings did you hold in 2016? How many calls to you attempt vs. complete, and how many prospect letters (not emails) did you send?

Review Your Personal Marketing Efforts

Prospecting is hard enough when folks know you, or at least heard of your company. Prospecting without a personal presence is downright difficult. Your personal marketing efforts will reflect strongly on you prospecting results. I always focus on three elements of presence, or personal marketing. Personal, Physical, and Digital. Upon your review of your personal marketing efforts in 2016, ask yourself how many personal meetings did you have from a marketing perspective? These are meetings to get to know people. These are not prospecting meetings. These are relationship building opportunities. Maybe it was going to a conference, or going for a drink with the guys, or whatever it might be. How many personal marketing meetings did you hold? Look back at your calendar. This is vital to growing in 2017. Physical marketing efforts consist of tangible items you have mailed, gifted or sent. From the physical side, mailing side, how many times did you mail out? How many times did you send out post cards, or flyers. How many gifts did you send, or articles you shared. Again, look at your calendar, look at your marketing efforts, look at your budget, look at your expenses.

Lastly, think about the digital side. Yes, the tweeting, the blogging, the LinkedIn groups, Facebook interactions, that you actually participate in. Just because you’re a member of a LinkedIn group, and you never participate that does not count. That’s probably 95% of folks out there. Think about the digital efforts. What did you do digitally? Even e-mail blasts, and newsletters.

As noted, the first step in any process of change is always the biggest. Reviewing your transactional history, prospecting efforts and personal marketing activities will take you some time. Potentially several days. But don’t forget you will have several days of “downtime” in the weeks ahead. You can either review and then implement change, or simply do what you have always done in the past. You know, and we know that positive change, and income growth, are not products of simply doing the same thing year after year.

Commit to making 2017 your best year as a REALTOR ever. I dare you!

Strength and courage,
Wade

Please share this post using the buttons below…

https://plus.google.com/113259707478722993209/posts/aKECNXKkW3B

Top 10 Reason’s Why You Buy & Sell Over The Winter – Debunking The Myth

kelowna on November 30, 2016

The #1 objection all agents are getting from real estate buyers and sellers is “we are waiting until spring.” So having the ability to change how the buyer and seller feels about waiting to buy or sell until the spring is imperative to your winter real estate success!! The fact of the matter is, the reasons and myths are endless so it’s our job as REALTORS® to be equipped with facts and a strong reality check to combat these reasons we hear every day. To help you through the winter season I put together some of the top reasons a client would want to choose this time of year to buy, sell and list a home.

Top Reasons to Sell Real Estate Over The Winter

#1 – Only Serious Buyers Looking

• Yes there are fewer buyers, but those buyers are usually very SERIOUS about making a purchase or many HAVE to make a purchase. Who else would want to look at buying during the winter?

#2 – Less Listing Competition

• Most sellers wait until the spring or summer to list, so your home will have far less competition
• Spring = Greater supply = Same Demand = Less Money

#3 – January is the Biggest Corporate Transfer Month

• More corporate relocation moves happen during January than any other time of the year.
• Catch the corporate relocation buyers while you can.

#4 – High Attentive Efficient Customer Service

• By putting the home on the market during the winter you experience better, personal and faster customer service from movers, lawyers, banks, insurance providers etc. Listing realtors have more time to better serve their sellers and get all the marketing strategies in place.

#5 – More Time to Get Top Dollar

• By starting to market your home early, you may be able to secure a higher price with more listing exposure time. This season allows a seller to not be in a rush to sell and allow for more market exposure time and ultimately generate a higher price than in the spring.

#6 – Time to Sell Now, Buy In The Spring

• If your home sells quickly, you will be able to shop for your next home during the winter, a great time to find a bargain!
• More time to look and not pressure to shop and beat the other buyers. Sell first and then buy in the spring when the inventory and selection begins to rise for you when you are the buyer.

#7 – Stand Out in a Smaller Crowd

• Most REALTORS® and offices have less inventory during the winter, enabling your home to stand out even more.
• Less marketing noise out there for the buyers and they see your home with ease now.

#8 – 20% of Homes Sold During the Winter

• Buyers and Sellers are usually quite motivated to get the transaction completed. We still have 20% of the business in the year occurring during the winter.
• This can mean less price haggling and fewer hassles during the process.

#9 – Non-Contingent (Subject to the sale) Buying

• By selling now, you may have an opportunity to be a non-contingent buyer during the spring, when more houses are on the market!
• Less “subject to the sale” offers from buyers and you are not one of them when you are buying your next home.

#10 – No Yard Work When It’s Snows

• Great time for a home that needs a yard make over to sell.
• No need to worry about your yard work. Snow makes it look fresh and white.

BONUS…..

#11 – Buyers Time Everything Too

• Buyers begin the search and purchase for spring moves in January, February.
• Busy move times are March Spring Break, April Easter, May long weekend and July long weekends

#13 – No Pricing Wars With Others

• Less choice for buyers means less sellers to play pricing against each other
• Buyers will often make more concession in their buying decision with less choice

#14 – Holiday Magic Show Time

• Property shows well, almost staged with holiday décor adding to the ambiance
• Tis the season for your home to shine!

#15 – Higher Quality Showings

• Little chance of quick showings and not being prepared to show your home
• Easier time of year to make appointments and give sellers advance notice.
• Higher quality showings

#16 – Right Buyer, Right Time

• The odds are the same for the right buyer looking at your home regardless of the season.
• Right buyer, right time, right home

Top 10 Reasons to Buy Over The Winter

#1 – Little Or No Competing Offers

• Little or no chance of multiple or competing offers for the buyer during this time of year

#2 – Buyers Receive Better Customer Service

• Better service from all service providers like the agents, banks, insurers etc. Not as busy now.

#3 – Seller Motivation Increases

• Sellers motivated at this time of year if still trying to sell from summer or fall.
· Sellers willing to negotiate, been on the market for some time now. Give and take.

#4 – Expired Listings Available Now

• Buyers can shop the expired listings market, which has the largest selection this time of the year.

#5 – Better Closing Options

• Good time of year to make an offer and do the due diligence, buyers can move quickly now or slower in the spring if not in a rush.

#6 – Alternative Housing Options

• Easier for sellers to find alternative housing, not as much pressure finding a rental vs. the really busy spring and summer season.

#7 – Subject to the Sale Acceptable

• Great time for buyers to make contingent “Subject to the Sale” offers and get them accepted and movement on the price.

#8 – Better Available Moving Services

• Easier time for a buyer to move and find help and services like movers, cleaners, storage.

#9 – Smoother Mistake Free Completions

• Better timing for buyers on completions with lawyers, banks land registry. Not that busy and time to attend to you now.

#10 – Buyer Competition Lower

• Less competition for the same property from other buyers on the deals that pop up this time of year.

Now that you’re equipped with ammo to overcome any objection, debunk the myths and go out there and list and sell some real estate this winter season

Strength and courage,
Wade

Please share this post using the buttons below…

Agent’s Guide to Writing a Business Plan

kelowna on October 26, 2016

Business Plan – a written document that describes in detail how a business, usually a new one, is going to achieve its goals. A business plan lays out a written plan from a marketing, financial and operational viewpoint.

FACT: LESS THAN 3% OF REAL ESTATE AGENTS HAVE A BUSINESS PLAN
FACT: ESTIMATED 3% OF REAL ESTATE AGENTS IN NORTH AMERICA DOING 97% OF BUSINESS

“If you fail to plan, you plan to fail.” Writing a business plan may seem a daunting task as there are so many moving parts and concepts to address. Take it one step at a time and be sure to schedule regular review (quarterly, semi-annually, or annually) of your plan to be sure you on are track to meet your goals. It is that time of year again when we begin to build our plan for 2017 and let’s look at the key areas of the agent’s solid business plan.

1) Defining Your Mission & Vision

Writing a solid business plan begins by defining your business’s mission and vision statement. Though creating such a statement may seem like fluff, it is an important exercise. The mission and vision statement sets the foundation upon which to launch your business. It is difficult to move forward successfully without first defining your business and the ideals under which your business operates. A company description should be included as a part of the mission and vision statement: what type of real estate do you sell? Where is your business located? Who founded your business? What is sets your business apart from your competitors?

2) SWOT Analysis

Once you’ve created a mission and vision statement, the next step is to develop a SWOT analysis. SWOT stands for “Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats.” It is difficult to set goals for your business without first enumerating your business’s strengths and weaknesses, and the strengths and weaknesses of your competitors. Do you offer superior customer service as compared with your competitors? Do you specialize in a niche market? What experiences do you have that set you apart from your competitors? What are your competitors’ strengths? Where do you see the market already saturated, and where are there opportunities for expansion and growth?

3) Setting Goals

Next, translate your mission and vision into tangible goals. If your mission statement is to make every client feel like your most important client: how specifically will you implement this? Do you want to grow your business? Is this growth measured by gross revenue, profit, personnel, or physical office space? How much growth do you aim for annually? What specific targets will you strive to hit annually in the next few years?

4) Marketing Plan

You may wish to create a marketing plan as either a section of your business plan or as an addendum. The Marketing Mix concerns product, price, place and promotion. What is your product? How does your price distinguish you from your competitors—is it industry average, upper quartile, or lower quartile? How does your pricing strategy benefit your clients? How and where will you promote your services? What types of promotions will you advertise? Will you ask clients for referrals or use coupons? Which channels will you use to place your marketing message?

5) Forming a Team

Ensuring the cooperation of all colleagues, supervisors, and service providers involved in your plan is another important element to consider. Is your business plan’s success contingent upon the cooperation of your colleagues? If so, what specifically do you need them to do? How will you evaluate their participation? Are they on-board with the role you have assigned them? How will you get “buy in” from these individuals?

6) Implementation & Follow-up

Implementation and follow-up are frequently overlooked aspects to the business plan, yet enormously vital to the success of the plan. Set dates (annually, semi-annually, quarterly, or monthly) to review your business plans goals: are you on track? Were the goals reasonable to achieve, impossible, or too easy? How do you measure success—is it by revenue, profit, or number of transactions?

And last, how do you plan to implement your business plan’s goals? When will you review and refine your business plan goals? What process will you use to review your goals? What types of quantitative and qualitative data will you collect and use to measure your success? So there you have it your guide to building your 2017 business plan. Click here to download your Click here to download your free 2017 business plan template and make 2017 your best year in real estate!

Strength and courage,
Wade

Please share this post using the buttons below…

https://plus.google.com/+Agentsboost/posts/FeWrGpgZFwr