Toby Boyce
By Toby Boyce
We’ve all seen the advertisements on television. The more Axe bodywash you use, the more female attention you are going to get.
Well, I recently conducted a not-at-all scientific experiment and wore Axe body wash to the library. A couple of girls and guys smiled at me, but I was really disappointed as I expected there to be a line out the door complete with cat fights. I mean, that’s what the advertisement leads us to believe will happen, right?
Ahh, yes. But we know better. We know that isn’t true. We know that there are a lot more things that go into whether you’ll have a female talk to you than what body wash you used this morning.
So how is it that so many of these “real estate gurus” continue to travel the country selling the exact same thing? The magic bullet that will save your real estate career and desperate agents buy into it.
“Those that came here today hoping to just pick up one piece of usable information are just prolonging their failure.” It was the line that got me in 2006. I was struggling and forked over $600 that we really didn’t have for a system that I never really ended up using. Why? Because I needed a magic pill and they offered one.
When teaching technology classes in my office and others, I see too many agents looking for the same result from social media. The most common question is, “How much will blogging make me?” Well that’s hard to answer because it depends on what you do with it and where you take it. But you can do it. Sadly, I can count on one hand the number of blogs I’ve set-up over the years that are still functional and being maintained.
Yet every single agent has access to the “magic pill” for their real estate career — a business plan. Continue reading »
Dave Robison
By Dave Robison
The crowd cheers, “Half-full, half-full!” Buzzer rings…nope, the answer is neither.
Why are so many people saying the glass is half-full? There are people saying half-empty as well. Those Debbie Downers (the half-empty glass people) might say something like this: “Ohhhh, the market, it’s awful. It’s killed our business.” Those saying their glass is half-full might say something like this: “At least I can feed my family and I’m still in the business.”
But the answer is still neither.
In the glass there are two components…the water that everyone readily sees and is anxious to claim as blessings in life. And there’s a second part, which is the unseen part in that glass — oxygen.
We need both oxygen and water to live. Everyone readily looks at the water as being blessings in their life. The oxygen represents the trials. We need blessings and trials in order to grow personally. The person who will come out on top in today’s market is the person that yells out, “MY GLASS IS FULL.” This person understands that today’s market brings them opportunity. They also understand that, although painful at times, if they focus and work hard, they will grow stronger. These people will welcome the challenge and focus on accomplishing something great.
The real estate community is changing in our local markets. Top producers of yesterday are gone. There is a breeding ground, ripe, waiting to harvest new leaders. Before you realize what happened, those who yell, “MY GLASS IS FULL,” are going to be the leaders of tomorrow.
What is your glass?
Dave Robison, known as “Utah Dave,” is a broker of Robison & Company Real Estate.
Brooke Wolford
By Brooke Wolford
I have had the opportunity over the past couple of months to take a real look at myself and my business. I dug deep and picked at myself. I knew I could do better. I can tell you that taking that close of a look at my past wasn’t pretty.
I can honestly admit I made a ton of mistakes. I let my business decline and I lost the will to make it better. I let the current market conditions get the best of me. I was scared to take the necessary risks in order to improve my business. It was all on me. I caused this but I was more than ready to what I needed to in order to make it better.
In business in general, people tend to look at their mistakes and think that it’s temporary. You get in a rut and sometimes it’s tough to get out. It’s often a lot harder than most would assume. It’s important to look closely at your failures and decide whether or not you have truly learned from them. From there you can take the proper steps to improve and create some new energy to move forward.
In my case, I learned my lesson. I am moving on and taking a fresh look at my future. I have set goals and know how I can achieve them. I have the inspiration I need and it’s not something I will let slip away. I can not go back in time and change what I have done before. All I can do is move forward and know that if I stay focused, I will have the redemption I am looking for.
Brooke Wolford is a real estate practitioner with Coldwell Banker Burnet in Woodbury, Minn. Follow her blog at adventuresinrookierealestate.com.
Toby Boyce
By Toby Boyce
It was a hot summer day in late July 2006 as I slipped down U.S. 23 to the Ohio Division of Real Estate testing center. I had made the jump into real estate without a safety net – quitting my job in higher education public relations and knowing that if I failed this test it would be a very-very bad sign.
Well, I passed the test. Actually, I scored a perfect 100 percent on the state portion of the test, a feat that none of the folks working that day had ever seen achieved. So I entered into the world of real estate with a swagger and confidence. “I got this.”
We got through two years when 2-out-of-3 licensed agents aren’t even using their license. And now about to hit the five-year milestone and the only thing I’m certain of is how little I really knew when I said, “I got this.”
While the last five years have been an emotional and financial roller coaster, I wouldn’t have traded it for anything. I honestly – even if naively – believe that I’ve learned more during this period than I could have in any other venture.
“I wish you’d made the jump a few years ago,” said a former agent. “It was so easy, the phone just rang and buyers were there.” That sounds like being an order taker to me, so why not work at a local fast food restaurant?
What have I learned in five years in real estate: Continue reading »
Cory Brewer
By Cory Brewer
Here is a quick story to inspire my fellow REALTORS® to keep after it (prospecting), even when it feels like a lost cause:
This past winter I volunteered to coach a youth league basketball team at my local Boys & Girls Club. My interest in volunteering was two-fold: 1.) I love basketball and have always wanted to coach, but I don’t have kids yet. I was ready/able to do it this year and there was a coaching spot open. 2.) What better way to forge relationships with potential clients in the community?
The experience was very fulfilling on a personal level for me, and at the end of the season most of the parents told me they will request me as their coach next season. That was the best compliment I could have received. It came as “icing on the cake” when after the season one of those parents told me he’d be checking in with me soon about some real estate related matters. In the back of my mind I was thinking, “Wow, it worked!”
Long story short, he had already been out looking around at open houses on his own and figured it was time to “get serious” so he brought up the subject with me. After following up a couple of times, I didn’t really hear back from him until a few weeks later when he informed me that he’d found a place that he liked during an open house and made an offer with the listing agent. Continue reading »
David Krichmar
By David Krichmar
Testimonials are a very important asset to you. Heck, what better way to show your “The Best REALTOR®” then with testimonials from past clients? Here are five great tips to get more out of your testimonials:
1. Content- “Dave is great,” is not a testimonial. You will want to be at least a paragraph, four-to-five sentences. Let the client paint the picture of the great job you did. This means do not just post the good parts or shorten it. Putting “Kim did a good job,” in quotation marks makes me feel like you cut out the part where Kim did something not so good.
2. Key Words- In anything we do online we want keywords. This is how you get found on the Internet. So highlight the keywords that your client uses in their testimonial, such as the town, county, subdivision, builder’s name, etc. of the home. If the client does not mention them, add them after the testimonial.
3. Links- Just like keywords, we also want links that point to our websites. If the client mentions a keyword, such as “Sugar Land, Texas,” have it link back to your website. Especially if this is an area that you specialize in. This is also a great idea for school districts, subdivisions, etc. that are mentioned on your website, blog posts, and/or Facebook pages. Continue reading »
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