Finishing Strong

Every year I wonder how bad December and January will be for my brokerage. It's probably my most stressful time of running my brokerage. It seems that most years, Agents decide that from the second week of November through the first of the new year, it's time to take off. I have seen this over and over again since getting into the business almost 10 years ago.

Why does this happen? I have many thoughts, but one in particular that stands out for me. Mindset. Yes, the mindset is that business is always slow this time of year so why work hard. Unfortunately for so many Agents, that is so wrong. I remember I started in Real Estate on Sept. 10, 2001. Of course we all know what happened the 2nd day I was on the job. However, people still bought homes and in January of 2002, I had 9 closings. The only reason I believe is that I worked the entire holiday season, I didn't take the last 6 weeks of the year off, I worked hard.

So how do you want to start 2011? If you want to start where you have no closings in January, then do nothing. Do what you may have done each year and take off the rest of the year doing as little as possible to get by. Or, work while most Realtors are sitting around doing nothing and thrive. Wouldn't it be great to start your year off with 2, 3, 4 or 5 closings instead of your first closings of the year coming the end of February or the beginning of March?

Make a six week plan. Figure out what you can do between now and the end of the year to generate customers and contracts. What are you doing tomorrow, Monday? Get yourself out of your chair and continue to run your business with as much energy and enthusiasm as possible. Remember, while most Agents are asleep at the wheel, you can claim your stake and start 2011 off with a bang!

Good luck!

Real Estate and Work Ethic

I'm sitting here going through my emails before I go out and tackle that little golf ball shortly and I'm just thinking. I was recently talking to a lead generation and software company about how to convert leads. They had contacted me about using their system. I'm always trying to figure out better ways of working leads, but this one had me curious. The system itself is basic and easy to use. It doesn't have a ton of functionality, but it's not bad. However, when I was going through the demo, the person on the other end of the line told me that the best part of the system is you don't have to chase leads. You simply put the system up and they will come to you. They don't believe you should prospect or work your database, just wait until they contact you to buy a home.

With that said, it made me realize why they were marketing the system like this. This company doesn't exist because Internet Lead Generation is important and a great way of doing business, they exist because many if not most Realtors do not want to work to get business. Everyone is looking for the easy button. There is no easy button.

Yes, you can set up your Internet Program where you get leads and you don't ask for phone numbers and you never call a lead until they give you their number and you have a conversation. My question is always; how many sales are you leaving on the table. If you are able to get 4-6 sales a year without doing anything, how many sales would you have if you actually prospected your database of leads.

In the end it comes down to work ethic. Most Realtors are looking for the easy button and the Internet seems like the closest thing we have to the easy button. You can market online and capture leads and never call them. You will, with an appropriate backend marketing campaign, get sales. No question. But since when are we satisfied with mediocrity? So many Agents, and not just Agents but people, are willing to never reach their potential because of their lack of work ethic. This business is one of the easiest sales jobs I have ever had. There is basically very little if any "sales" that go into selling Real Estate. Of course getting business is all about sales and prospecting. If you don't prospect your database, you are leaving thousands of dollars on the table...very simple.

So as you move on with your day today, just think of how much your life would change if you had just 1 more transaction per month, how about 2 extra transactions per month. If you are lucky, you know thousands of people and they send you business every month. However, if you are like most of us, you need to do something than just sit by the phone waiting for someone to call you. Be proactive, work hard, and success is there. It's not rocket science. It's just about having a solid system and plan and moving forward!

As always, if you need anything at all, I'm always here!