Brett Caviness
By Brett Caviness
From the first year I got my license as a college student, I knew I wanted to be involved in the real estate business as much as possible. I started by attending the Iowa REALTORS® Legislative Bus-in where I quickly realized the power we as individuals have to take part in the political landscape that is our real estate industry. Real estate took a bit of a back seat while I finished my degree. As I made my way back home to another market, I again jumped in full-force as an active member of the Iowa Great Lakes Board of REALTORS®. After less than a year in my current market, I was elected secretary/treasury of our board. Since taking office, I have been involved in many programs and organizations.
During my first trip to state meetings this past winter, I was immersed into the exciting culture of passionate real estate professionals from across the state who take an active role in their profession at the state and sometimes national level. I quickly realized that we do have the power to interact, develop ideas, and implement strategies that affect not only our business, but the real estate industry for buyers and sellers.
After the energizing sessions we attended at the state level, I found myself asking, “Why doesn’t everyone want to attend these meetings? If nothing else, why don’t more brokers attend to take back this valuable knowledge and experience to their agents?” The president of our board responded quickly, “There are givers and there are takers.” Continue reading »
Scott Newman
By Scott Newman
I often encounter other REALTORS® who see little to no value in developing relationships with their fellow agents, and it just baffles me every time! We are in one of the most challenging real estate markets in U.S. history, not to mention we’re in an environment where rules and regulations change daily, which is only adding barriers to establishing a successful business. I think we need the support of one another now more than ever.
But how do you develop those bonds? Read on, as today I’m presenting a few great tips for building your agent network as a way to grow your business in 2012.
Unplug
This is by far the most important piece of advice I can possibly share with you. Put down the phone, computer, tablet, and anything else with a power cord if you really want to network with your fellow agents properly.
I love social media, and I owe a great deal of my success to our ability to market effectively on that platform. But when it comes to connecting with other REALTORS®, you simply can’t replace face-to-face interaction with any technology that currently exists. Make it a point to attend one live networking event a week related to our industry, giving you have a chance to meet other agents in person. Bring plenty of business cards and come ready to mingle.
Here’s another great tip: Take some time to figure out what distinguishes you from your fellow agents so you stand out. Whenever I’m around other agents, I make it a point to nail home just how successful and interested I am in working with short sale listings. More often than not, another agent in the room is all too happy to take a referral fee for the few short sale listings he gets each year, which is a win-win for everyone.
Maybe you do leasing, or you’re a luxury specialist — whatever it is, emphasize your specialty and talents to distinguish yourself from the crowd and elevate yourself as the top expert in the room. It will go a long way towards cementing relationships and help you create pipelines through which new business and referrals can flow.
Join Up Continue reading »
Anand Patel
By Anand Patel
I have a wonderful agent in West Palm Beach, Fla., who decided he wanted to give back by getting involved with his local chapter of Habitat for Humanity. While on site at his first project, he struck up a conversation with a fellow volunteer working along side him. As they carried on their conversations throughout the day, it turned out his new-found friend was an investor residing predominantly in Europe but looking to buy, rehab, and sell residential real estate while in the West Palm Beach area. To make a long story short, my agent ended up finding a property for his new volunteer buddy, who in turn rehabbed the property and had my agent list it and eventually sell the property for him. His new client enjoyed the experience so much he wants to purchase a few more properties with my agent. Who would have thought giving back would have paid off so well!
The point of my story is that we all prefer working with people with similar interests, right? Isn’t it easier to work with a client who supports the same causes, charities, clubs, foundations, associations and organizations that you do? Volunteering is a great way to connect with these like-minded individuals. Keep in mind that one should only volunteer when they truly have a genuine interest in getting involved and giving back. We all know people who volunteer with the pure intention of getting new business — others read right through this. Sharing a common bond and genuine interest with someone makes the decision for them to do business with you so much easier. 
Here are some ideas:
- Volunteer with charities or causes you want to support. You will meet people from all different backgrounds and professions. You’ll learn new perspectives about yourself, the way you run your business, and how you view your community. Not only will you feel good in supporting your favorite cause, but you are also indirectly helping yourself grow as an individual.
- Volunteer to serve on committees at your association, various organizations you may belong to, at your place of worship, or your child’s school. Continue reading »
Jared James
By Jared James
In my last post I spoke about goal setting, and what we actually have to focus on in order to never set goals that we don’t meet again. I have received responses from many of you who feel that you have everything in order, and yet you still don’t seem to be getting what you want out of your business or life. Many times this is because we still have “inner conflicts” that have yet to be resolved. Watch the video below to see what I mean.
Jared James is the CEO and founder of Jared James Enterprises (JJE) and travels around North America speaking to and coaching REALTORS®. Connect with Jared at www.jaredjamestoday.com, on facebook.com/jaredjamestoday, or follow him on Twitter @jaredjamestoday.
Rob Reuter
By Rob Reuter, YPN Manager
It’s official: 2012 has kicked into full gear. If you haven’t already, now is the time to start your business planning. Elizabeth Mendenhall, 2012 chair of NAR’s Strategic Planning Committee, recently asked YPN members what kind of statistics they consider when forming their annual business plan. From my former selling days, I focused mainly on two statistics:
- Absorption Rate: Focus marketing in areas/neighborhoods/price ranges that have high turnover rates and low time on the market.
- Frequency of Income-Producing Activities: Where does my business come from and how much time/energy do I put in these areas?
Several other YPN members have great ideas as well:
Dollars/Hour Earned (Brian Copeland): How much are you earning per hour? Take your gross annual income and divide it by the number of hours you worked. Increasing this number means you are making more and working less!
Months Supply/Inventory (Nobu Hata): Communicating this information to the consumer effectively will help ensure more accurate pricing.
80/20 Rule (Tiffany Curry & Kate Koplinka): Are you part of the minority doing the majority of the business?
Market Share (Lena Williams): Increase the percentage of your market share if geographical farming is part of your plan.
Average Sales Price (Kenny Parcell): Continue reading »
Brooke Wolford
By Brooke Wolford
This year was truly amazing for my fellow YPN’ers. I don’t think I have ever been so proud to be a part of YPN. The Young Professionals Network has grown so much and our presence has become very well known. Nobody can deny the fact that we are leaders in the real estate world.
I remember when I first got involved with YPN and having to explain to people what it was all about. Well, that’s no longer the case. Now anytime I mention YPN, I get this sort of celebrity-like feeling. People get excited about it. It’s inspiring what we have become.
We are actively involved in our industry. We’re rounding out the year with 227 YPN networks nationwide – that includes nearly 100 new groups formed in 2011. There are more YPN’ers involved in their local and national associations than ever. The leadership is amazing. We have this influence in the world and we are recognized for being able to share, mentor, and motivate people. We are the definition of what leaders should be.
I can honestly say that in 2012, we will be unstoppable. We have a lot of potential. Not to sound cliché but the sky is the limit. We are the elite. Congrats to all on another fantastic year! Cheers and let’s rock 2012!
Brooke Wolford is a real estate practitioner with Coldwell Banker Burnet in Woodbury, Minn. Follow her blog at adventuresinrookierealestate.com.
Rob Reuter
By Rob Reuter, YPN Manager
Beginning January 1, 2012, YPN will be shutting down its online community feature narypn.memberfuse.com due to a lack of activity, competition with a successful YPN group on Facebook, and the cost to maintain the site.
As a result, we have been looking at a product known as the REALTORS® Association Management Cooperative (RAMCO). The primary purpose of this program is to help association staff track membership, but it has a number of other features that makes it appealing to YPN. Along with having a personal profile, a portal feature would provide YPN members with access to a directory of other YPN members for referral purposes. It will also be synced with the NRDS database, so it won’t require a lot of maintenance and consistent logging-in to be effective.
Once the program is ready, hopefully early in 2012, we will provide further details and instruction both here on the YPN Lounge and directly to state and local associations. Until that time, we encourage you to join the Facebook group “National Association of REALTORS® YPN” and continue to communicate with each other there.
Nobu Hata
By Nobu Hata
The 2011 REALTORS® Conference & Expo YPN reception was the culmination of an incredible year for both YPN and NAR. From local associations, to state and national, the work these 15,000 young professional REALTORS® put in was celebrated at the convention.
This year’s winners certainly made their mark:
Small/Medium Network of the Year: Athens (GA) Association of REALTORS® YPN quickly became stalwarts of their already progressive association.
Large Network of the Year: Chicago (IL) YPN, set up a mentorship system within their organization, highlighting – via video on all association communiqués – how “old school” business practices of successful, lifelong REALTORS®, can co-exist and integrate with the “new school” way of the YPN. Props to Chicago REALTORS® President Bob Floss for facilitating that idea!
State Network of the Year: California Association of REALTORS® YPN, took that idea a step further and had their own business summit bringing together their formerly segmented groups and CAR leadership together in a one-day REALTOR® summit.
These networks, these REALTORS®, all are fantastic ambassadors of the REALTOR® brand, re-emphasizing our mission: Continue reading »
By Jared James
Jared James is the CEO and founder of Jared James Enterprises (JJE) and travels around North America speaking to and coaching REALTORS®. Connect with Jared at www.jaredjamestoday.com, on facebook.com/jaredjamestoday, or follow him on Twitter @jaredjamestoday.
Brooke Wolford
By Brooke Wolford
I arrived home yesterday from the REALTORS® Conference & Expo in Anaheim, Calif. I felt invigorated and yet somewhat overwhelmed. I had taken so much in while at the conference and my REALTOR® A.D.D. kicked right in. All the information I received while at the conference was amazing and I really didn’t know where to begin implementing the things I learned.
There were many sessions I attended where I learned valuable tools to use in my business. But I have to say, I learned the most from the fellow agents I met while at the conference. I never realized how much other agents would be willing to share with me.
On my plane ride in, I met Deanna Wiener, Broker/Owner of Cardinal Realty in Oakdale, MN. We spent a good amount of time while in flight discussing our business. It was terrific to hear about her business as she was a veteran agent and had so much insight on our real estate market. I was able to share some things with her as well. It was a great start to the weekend.
I met some really amazing people while at the conference. Fellow agents were so willing to share information with me. At times, I was really taken back by other REALTORS®’ generosity. Continue reading »
Recent Comments