Real Estate Moms Blog

Adapting an Expired Prospecting Plan to Fit Your DiSC Style

2008-07-23T12:33:00.001-07:00

We are all different. Why shouldn’t our Expired Listing Plan be different?

In the past, I have taken some time to talk about how to adjust a generic Expired Prospecting Plan to make it fit for your area in my article A Tale of Three Agents. I reference them in this article so click here to read that article first.

The next way I encourage you to adjust an Expired Plan after you have adapted it to fit your Market Area is by customizing it to fit your STYLE.

When I say style, I mean Behavioral Styles. All of the clients I work with are given a DiSC Profile. This helps me as a coach to understand who they are and for the Realtor to understand and build off their strengths.

I am sure many of you are familiar with DiSC, but if you are not or would like more information, log on to www.DiSCForRealEstate.com and click on the “What is DiSC” tab.

I am going to give a very brief overview before going on to explain how my clients have adapted their Expired Programs to fit their styles.

The DiSC® model provides nonjudgmental language for exploring behavioral issues across four primary dimensions:

Dominance: Direct and Decisive.

D’s are strong-willed, strong-minded people who like accepting challenges, taking action, and getting immediate results.

Influence: Optimistic and Outgoing.

I’s are “people people” who like participating on teams, sharing ideas, and energizing and entertaining others.

Steadiness: Sympathetic and Cooperative.

S’s are helpful people who like working behind the scenes, performing in consistent and predictable ways, and being good listeners.

Conscientiousness: Concerned and Correct.

C’s are sticklers for quality and like planning ahead, employing systematic approaches, and checking and re-checking for accuracy.

Most agents I work with usually come up with a primary and secondary style.

Many agents come up with High “Ds” as one of their two highest styles. Although being a High D is great when it comes to running a team, or closing a buyer, it can be intimidating to prospects early on and can be perceived as being pushy. In this case I encourage them to turn down their”D” and concentrate on the other highest style.

Remember the three agents I told you about in A Tale of Three Agents? They were the City Agent, the Suburb Agent and the Rural Agent? They all have different styles.

Based on what I told you about the City Agent’s Expired Plan, can you guess what style he is? Remember:

He is on the phone calling Expired Listings every day from 9:30 am to 10 am without fail. His intention with the phone calls is to see if the homeowner is still interested in selling their home and to make an appointment to come out, that day if possible.

After making phone calls, setting appointments and talking to those that are home; this City Agent then spends 30 minutes making up packets to drop off at the homes that he was not able to talk to.

City Agent is a High C.

Conscientiousness: Concerned and Correct.

C’s are sticklers for quality and like planning ahead, employing systematic approaches.

He does the same thing at the same time everyday without fail. He is very accurate, very precious and a very good agent.

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How about Suburban Agent? What style do you think she is based on the way she adapted her Expired Plan to fit her style as well as her market area. Remember she is the one that:

Uploads the picture, creates the card that then is printed in her handwriting and sent that day. She then sends out a post card through the same system 3 days later and another card 3 days after that. She continues with cards weekly for four more weeks and then puts them on a monthly card and postcard campaign which is automated through this system.

Suburban Agent is a High “S”

Steadiness: Sympathetic and Cooperative.

S’s are helpful people, performing in consistent and predictable ways, and are good listeners.

She created a system that she can put in motion that seems to be very personal, but is totally automated.

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So how the marketing person for Rural Agent?

Remember the marketing person:

She has a number of different scripts to use when she calls, but she never uses them. She was born and raised in the small rural community and knows most of the people (or some mutual acquaintance anyway!) in the tri-county area. She just calls them starts to chat with them, builds report and sets the appointment for the lead agent.

She chats with the neighbors when dropping off packets and even gets listing appointment through the neighbors who she builds report with.

She is probably the biggest “I” I have ever met

Influence: Optimistic and Outgoing.

I’s are “people people” who like energizing and entertaining others.

She has really put her natural gift of gab to work!

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Which of the four styles do you think best describes you? How can you customize your Expired Plan so that it will really play off your strengths?

I run come across so many agents that are trying to fit into molds and read scripts and send letters that is not who they are. Trying to do this business like someone you are not is not going to allow you to reach your full potential. Who are you and how can you create your business around THAT style.

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I also want to touch on just briefly is how to customize your Expired Plan to fit the style of your prospects.

I just outlined for you the four DiSC Styles and encouraged you to draw from your strengths. I also encourage you to adapt your style to better relate to your prospect’s style.

Now I don’t want to confuse anyone so let me clarify that a person’s style is not influenced by if they live in the city, the suburbs or a rural area. You cannot assume that because your prospect lives in a certain neighborhood and that your accountant lives in that neighborhood, therefore all people in that neighborhood must be High “Cs” You must not generalize like this.

If, however, you call someone on the phone or meet them when you drop off a packet, pay attention to what people say and how they say it.

Do they talk fast and vibrantly?

Are they more systematic in their responses?

Are they very precise in their answers?

If you are a High “I” and talking loud and fast and the prospect on the other side of the door or telephone is slower speaking, more exact in their word choice, how much rapport are you building. While I encourage you to be yourself, I also encourage you to tone down extremes if you don’t seem to be connecting with people.

People Reading can be one of the most effective sales tools I work on with my clients. Using the DiSC Styles in People Reading is beneficial whether you are working with Expired Listings, FSBOs, sellers, buyers, everyone. To build rapport, it is import to listen, observe and adjust your presentation in order to build rapport. Remember, it is about them, not all about you.

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Real Estate Coach Cheri Alguire helps Real Estate Agents get more listings and make money in any type of market. To find out more about her Expired Real Estate Leads Program visit http://expiredrealestateleads.com/ or visit http://www.prorealestatecoach.com/ to find out about her Real Estate Coaching Programs.

Discovering Your Niche Market

2008-07-22T09:53:00.000-07:00

By Cheri Alguire

How many times in your business have you heard, “You need to choose a niche”? While nearly everyone talks about the benefits of a niche and that they need to find theirs:

How do you really choose a niche?
How do you know the right one?
Will you really like it?
Will it prove profitable?

For me, in the beginning it seemed to boil down to one critical question: How was I going to attract clients?

I understood finding my target audience from the marketing I had done in my previous businesses. After hearing the speakers, taking the classes, and reading the books about the importance of choosing a niche, I began to understand that to really have effective advertising, my business and marketing plans must start with a clear idea of what my niche market would be.

I am a business and life coach for Real Estate Professionals. Okay, there are still a million Realtors in the United States, but to be honest, when I first began coaching I thought that niche was too narrow. I knew there were other Real Estate Coaches out there. All I could focus on was the overwhelming feeling that came to me in trying to figure out how was I suppose to compete with the other coaches with that same niche. So, I decided I wasn't going to limit myself. I decided I was also going to work with small business owners. They were kind of like real estate professionals since they both had small business and I had owned several small businesses in the past. I knew there were a lot of small business owners out there.

I also told myself I didn’t want to get “bored” working with just Real Estate Agents. Now, several years later, after working with hundreds of real estate agents, brokers and managers, I have found a couple groups of ideal clients that excite me: real estate moms looking to balance their business and their life, busy real estate professionals looking to efficiently manage their time and brokers or agents looking to build an effective team.

Sometimes you chose your niche and it works out from the beginning. Other times, your niches evolve as you and your business change and grow.

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Coach Cheri Alguire is a Business Coach who works with Real Estate Professionals, Small Business Owners, Moms, and New Coaches. To find out more about her new book: A Guide to Getting It: Branding & Marketing Mastery please visit http://books.cherialguire.com

A Tale of Three Agents: How to Adapt a Real Estate Expired plan to Work in Your Market Area

2008-06-30T16:25:00.000-07:00

By Cheri Alguire

When you as a Real Estate Agent adapt an Expired plan to your Market Area, you need to adjust that plan to fit “where” you are working expireds.

Before I give you examples of three clients that have modified Expired Plans to meet their areas, I want to make sure everyone is clear on what the goal of working expired listings is: “getting the listing appointment.” Now, actually getting the listing at a marketable price and then selling that listing are two other articles, but here we are going to be talking about “getting your foot in the door.” I have three clients in total different market areas that use three totally different approaches.

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The City Agent:
The first Realtor is located in the city. He uses the ExpiredRealEstateLeads.com program to locate the Expired Listings every morning. (Let me stress how important it is to work Expired Listings daily. It is crucial to contact them right away. A large percentage of Expireds will relist immediately. If you are only working Expireds on say a weekly basis, you will not be able to get your foot in the door simply because you are too late.)

This City Agent works Expireds in areas that he farms and is very familiar with. There are also a very large percentage of homes in his area that ARE NOT on the Do Not Call list. This agent is on the phone calling Expired Listings every day from 9:30 am to 10 am without fail. His intention with the phone calls is to see if the homeowner is still interested in selling their home and to make an appointment to come out, that day if possible.

After making phone calls, setting appointments and talking to those that are home; this City Agent then spends 30 minutes making up packets to drop off at the homes that he was not able to talk to. In these packets he includes some marketing materials about himself, some market update information about the current conditions in the area in their price range, and personal letter about why he wants to list their property and why he thinks he can sell it.

Between 4-5 pm, this City Agent then drops off these packets hoping to run into home owners that are getting home from work. Because traffic and parking are an issue and his market area and neighborhood are condensed, he creates a plan and walks the packets to the front doors of the 4-5 Expired listings for the day.

Now there is continued follow up that he does if he is not able to get an appointment right away, he will follow up two days later with a phone call to make sure they received the packet and weekly phone calls for the next two weeks along with one other mailing that first week and then weekly mailings for the next five weeks.

Using this approach gets this City Agent 3-4 listing appointments a week and 1-2 sellable listings.

Would this kind of approach work in your area?

The Suburban Agent:
The second client I am going to tell you about lives in an upper middle class suburban area in the Midwest. This Suburban Agent’s area is very different than the first one I told you about. 99% of the homes are on the Do Not Call List and calling just is not something that works for her area.

Many of the neighborhoods have a no soliciting policy and even if they don’t have a formal posted ordinance regarding door knocking, it is something that is frowned upon and not something that works in her area.

This Suburban Agent also looks up the Expireds through ExpiredRealEstateLeads.com daily, but what she does is makes a list of the homes and drives by them taking a picture of the front of the house.

Because so many agents are sending the same thing, including information about themselves and the company and a standard cover letter, she has found the way for her to stick out is to send a greeting card in an envelope that is personally addressed to the homeowner.

The greeting card is in an envelope that gets opened and the card has a photo of their house on the front. On the inside is a handwritten note that is personally addressed to the homeowner that says simply “I want to sell your house, and I think I can. I know you will be getting a lot of mailings form numerous other agents, but I would love to meet with you to show you why I am different. Please call me so we can set up a time to meet. I look forward to meeting you.” And she signs her name and includes a copy of her business card.

The Suburban Agent uploads the picture, creates the card that then is printed in her handwriting and sent that day and it costs her less than a dollar, plus the cost of the stamp.

If you think this type of approach might work in your area, you can check out that postal card system for Realtors at www.CardsforRealEstate.com

Now, like the City Agent, this Suburban Agent doesn’t just make that first initial contact and leave it at that. She sends out a post card through the same system 3 days later and another card 3 days after that. She continues with cards weekly for four more weeks and then puts them on a monthly card and postcard campaign which is automated through this system.

A couple of years ago in her area it would have been considered a waste of money and time to continue to follow up with this lead for a year. However, she has found that many homeowners in her area have decided to pull their home off the market for a period of time before putting it back on the market. This Suburban Agent is going on 4-6 listing appointments a week and over half of them have been expired for over 3 months.

Would this kind of approach work in your area?

The Rural Agent:
The last client of mine I want to tell you about today lives in a rural area in the North West. This Rural Agent has actually hired a marketing person that gets compensated just for getting listing appointments. That is her only responsibility on the team five days a week and she rarely goes a day without getting at least one listing appointment, usually it is 2 or 3. That is 10-15 listing appointments a week.

How many of you on the call are drooling over the thought of having someone else doing all of your prospecting so all you had to do is go out and do the listing presentation and sign listing agreements all day?

Like I mentioned, she does this in a rural area so door knocking would definitely not work in this area. Because she is such a high volume agent in a sparsely populated area, she does cover several counties in order to hit her production goals.

Again, the thing all three of these agents have in common is that they keep up the Expired Program Daily. (Five Days a week) Every new Expired that comes up on the ExpiredRealEstateLeads.com System that is not on the Do Not Call List (about half of them in her area are) gets a phone call with the goal again of setting that listing appointment for the lead agent.

Now the marketing person on this team has a number of different scripts to use when she calls, but she never uses them. She was born and raised in a small rural community and knows most of the people (or some mutual acquaintance anyway!) in the tri-county area. She just calls them, starts to chat with them, builds rapport and sets the appointment for the lead agent.

If she is not able to reach the people by phone, she begins compiling a packet that again includes information about the team, a sampling of the marketing materials they use and a personal handwritten note to the seller.

This person then maps out the homes that Expired that day and right after lunch, begins to drive to each of the homes she was not able to talk to that day and personal drops off a packet. Again, her hope is to run into the seller and set that appointment. She has even received calls to set up listing appointments after she has run into the neighbors while out there, chats with them for a while and ends with a half joking remark to the neighbors telling them to encourage the sellers to call them if they are serious about getting their home sold. She even gets the neighbors working for her!

Again, she has a follow up plan in place to follow up the next day with a phone call to make sure they received the information, another mailing 3 days later, and again three days after that. Weekly calls and mailings for the first six week if the property does not relist or they inform her they would like wait for an extended period of time and then she just puts them on her monthly Lead Farm Mailing after that and never takes them off. She figures they will sell someday and if not, she has enough rapport with them after the personal contact that she might get (and has gotten) referrals from them.

How many of you think this type of approach might work in your area?

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I gave you examples of three very different areas. I tried to choose areas that would represent the majority. But if I didn’t describe your area, what could you do to a standard marketing plan that would make it fit your area better?

I work with an agent that works in very elite areas that have household help that open their mail for them and discard any junk mail. She also uses the personal greeting card system with a very short personal handwritten message inside.

I work with agents in resort and second home markets that have owners that live in other states. Most of their contact is done through high quality mailings.

I have another agent in a very high tech area so his mailings direct them to his website where most of the expireds decide to email him and set up a listing presentation.
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What might work in your area? Take out a piece of paper and take 20-30 seconds to describe your market area and list one thing that you might want to try in your market area.
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Real Estate Coach Cheri Alguire helps Real Estate Agents get more listings and make money in any type of market. To find out more about her Expired Real Estate Leads Program visit http://expiredrealestateleads.com/ or visit http://www.prorealestatecoach.com/ to find out about her Real Estate Coaching Programs.

Are Expired Listings Really Worth Workingi n Today’s Real Estate Market?

2008-06-24T12:53:00.000-07:00

I am a real estate business coach. I have worked with hundreds and hundreds of clients over the past 7 years, and, you know what? Something has changed with most of my clients’ businesses over the past few years. My guess is that if you are a real estate professional, this is also true to some extent for your business as well.

I will tell you one other thing about many of my clients; most of them are exceeding their goals and many are having their best years yet.

They are in all different types of markets. I have clients in markets across California that have had 30 percent decline in values and record breaking foreclosure rates, and clients in areas of Tennessee where Days on Market are just now beginning to creep up there and everything in-between.

I have clients in many different areas across the United States. I have clients in the Midwest, clients on the West Coast, and clients on the East Coast.

I work with agents that target many different price ranges and niches of clients.

I work with agents that are solo agents; I work with agents that have mega teams, agents that have been in the business less than two years and agents that have been in this business for over 30 years.

Most of my clients have been successful over the past year because they have really learned to do one thing extremely well. Work Expired Listings. Now three years ago, most of them where having success because they mastered working FSBO Listings, but they all really had the pulse of their markets and shifted their focus early and deliberately to Expired Listings.

On May 20, 2008 I did a TeleSeminar on working Expired Real Estate Leads. To listen to that TeleSeminar go to www.ExpiredRealEstateLeads.com

I will be sharing with you over the next few weeks what I shared with the participants of that TeleSeminar.

What I am NOT going to give you over the next several weeks is scripts and dialogs of what you need to memorize to say or what to send to potential listings. Most of you already have a “plan” or “scripts” or ”letters” you picked up from a speaker or a book, or from your expired system or from the Top Producer Library. If you don’t, you need something to start with. Go to Realtor.org and look up the article titled Prospecting Plan for Expireds. There is a copy of that article posted on the Tips Page at ExpiredRealEstateLeads.com.

What I AM going talk to you about over the next few weeks is how to take that plan from NAR, or one from another source, and adapt it to fit

· Your Market Area

· Your Style

· Your Individual Prospects

I am sure you enjoy the stories over the next few weeks of

The City Agent
The Suburban Agent
The Rural Agent

Stay tuned!

Coach Cheri Alguire has coached hundreds of Real Estate Agents in many different market areas. To learn more about working with Expired Real Estate Listings visit www.ExpiredRealEstateLeads.com

www.ProRealEstateCoach.com

Expired Real Estate Listing Leads: The Five “Ws” (and one “H”)

2008-05-01T16:19:00.000-07:00

By Cheri Alguire

Why:

The real estate market is slower right now and more and more home sellers who want and need to sell are not doing so as quickly as in the past. This means there is a bigger pool of potential clients in the expired listings that pop up every day.

How:

The best place to find your Expired Listing Leads is through a program that will check your MLS System, double check them to make sure they have not been immediately re-listed, cross-reference them with the local tax records, find owners’ names and contact information including telephone numbers, and then check those numbers against the Do Not Call List. Now, this can all be done by your administrative assistant, or by you, but that would be an extremely time consuming. It is best to use a service like the one at ExpiredRealEstateLeads.com

Who:

Your assistant can get the list - and apply a preset action plan - and even do the mailings to the Expired Listing, however, an experienced agent or team member that is experienced at calling leads and setting appointments must also be involved. Once the appointment is set, the agent do the listing presentation must be good converting that appointment to a signed listing contract. Chances are, you will be in competition for this listing and the potential client has already had their house listed for a period of time and they are clearer on what they want to see from their new agent.

Where:

The expired real estate listings you are going after will be in the Farm areas you work, in the areas and neighborhoods that are selling the quickest in the current market in your area, and in the price ranges that are currently selling the quickest in your current market conditions. It is imperative that you stay extremely updated with these ever changing market statistics in order to best direct your efforts.

When:

You need to contact expired listing leads immediately and continuously. This means your first contact should be the day the property comes up as expired. Many expired listing leads will want and need to get their house back on the market as soon as possible. It is also important to note that there will be a multitude of agents contacting this lead on the first day or two after it expires. For those leads that take time to make up their mind in who they will relist with, it will be important to have continued contact that lessens in frequency of contacts over the next days, weeks and sometimes even months ahead.

What:

A combination of phone calls, mailings, drop-bys and even emails when that information is available. Different people respond differently to different forms of contact and you are never sure which one will be the best method for this lead.

Remember, the goal of these contacts is to get the appointment and eventually the listing!

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Find out more about Cheri’s Expired lead Program at www.ExpiredRealEstateLeads.com or www.CheriAlguire.com

Knowledge Really is Power

2008-04-09T09:09:00.001-07:00

By Cheri Alguire

While training for my half-marathon, I needed some knowledge of running fundamentals. In deciding to become a student of the game of running, I immediately headed to the nearest bookstore. Let me tell you, there are a LOT of books on running and I looked through every single one. In fact, I spent so much time at the bookstore browsing through running books; I got more than one weird look from the sales clerk!

Ultimately, I selected five books to begin my education on running a half-marathon. Out of those five, my favorite two were:

Absolute Beginner’s Guide to Half-Marathon Training, written by Heather Hedrick, and

The Non-Runner’s Marathon Trainer, written by David A. Whitsett.

Once I read these books, and the other three that I’d purchased, I also spent some time on the Internet. I took a lot of notes and, along with my trainer, eventually developed a training program I could stick to. Beyond that, the information I learned gave me the ability to see the finish line clearly. Before this, both the half-marathon and the actual running of it were nothing more than a fuzzy goal in my mind.

When you take the time to educate yourself, these fuzzy goals become clearer, make more sense, and you can finally begin to truly visualize yourself meeting them.

What I want you to do – RIGHT NOW – is make a list regarding your goals. I want you to answer these questions:

What is the category my goals fall in?

What information do I currently have on this category?

What else do I need to know?

Where can I go for this information? Think about the Internet, bookstores, libraries, coaches and/or trainers, and possible mentors that already have this information.

What do I hope to learn?

How will this make a difference in my meeting my goals?

As you answer these questions and seek the knowledge, you will gain power. Your goal will become more defined and you will be even more anxious to get started! Education is a strong motivator for success. Educate yourself first and success will follow!

Knowledge is power! Learning has never been easier. You can research practically anything on the Internet. Books have been written on virtually every subject known to man. Don’t worry if you don’t know how to do something – the information is out there to teach you.

Cheri Alguire is a real estate, business and life coach who partners with you to help you take your business and your life to the next level of success. For more information on Cheri Alguire's book 13 Lessons Learned in 13.1 Miles, visit www.13lessons.com For more information on Cheri Alguire can partner with you to take your real estate business to the next level, please visit http://www.CoachCheri.com

April Fools' Kid

2008-04-01T10:02:00.000-07:00

Every family has to have at least one. That child who is the one you can blame for the early gray and mommy stress. If you have middle child, he or she is probably the one. Or it might be your youngest. Mine, is my middle child.

Over the past 18 years, he is the one that I would get the call from the principal saying he was in trouble at school again, this time for tap dancing on the teacher's desk while she stepped out. He is the one that would play tricks on his little sister that caused her face to be covered with permanent marker (something to do with a penny rolling over her nose, don't ask) right as we were trying to get out the door in the morning.

Yes, this practical joking child lives for April Fool's Day.

Over the last few years his April Fool's pranks have included stories about failing classes, getting kicked out of school, being in jail, and being hurt. I think I liked the purple-flamingo-on-the-back porch-tales of his younger years much better.

So, for all of you moms out there that have a child that LIVES to make your heart skip a beat, hang in there! I am still waiting for my son's prank for this year. As I sit here and wait, I found an article with some interesting stats on April Fool's Day. I thought I would share them with you.

May your April Fool's Pranks be mild!
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Comic Stimulus

by Vera H-C Chan

Yesterday Mon, 31 Mar 2008 13:17:56 PDT

Tuesday is April Fools' Day, and a slowed economy, serious politicking, and global turbulence may be driving people to seek comic stimulus. Online research into April tomfoolery is up 40% over last year.

In the past 7 days, searches have soared 302% for "practical jokes" (as opposed to impractical jokes), 344% for "april fools' jokes," and another 1,564% for "april fools' pranks."

Get ready to file the workplace harassment claims: Your sacrosanct place of productivity isn't inviolable. Worker bees are investigating "april fools' office pranks" and "office pranks." You won't be able to answer a phone call without wondering if you'll hear "prank call soundboards."

In the spirit of public service, beware these April fools:

Youth means guile. Sweet-faced, female pre-teens prone to uncontrolled giggling should be approached with extreme caution.
Don't trust them when they're older either: Conspiratorial women 35-44 make up 1 out of 10 pranksters. However, ladies 45-54 are more likely to be into verbal wit then short-sheeting.
Biggest gathering of April Fools? Depends. Folks most into "april fools day" hail from Wisconsin. However, Pennsylvanians led queries into jokes and pranks. Must be all that pre-primary stress.
Media conspiracies. Slate has come out with its April Fool's self-defense kit, although searchers have already been checking out "snopes hoaxes" to educate themselves against mass manipulation. Meanwhile, Wired panders to readers with its top 10 nerdy pranks.
Did you hear the one about... If you're going to tell a joke, avoid ones about dumb blondes, people's mothers, and Chuck Norris. Everyone has been reading them online already—and don't come crying when Chuck Norris' mom comes to kick your sorry patootie for making fun of her boy.

http://buzz.yahoo.com/buzzlog/91276

Learning the Game

2008-03-31T19:16:00.000-07:00

I can honestly say that – WHATEVER YOUR GOAL – learning the game, becoming a student of the game, will help you get you the results you want. Why? Because you will take the time to inform yourself of the path ahead, and by doing so, you will increase your chances of success by a very large margin.

Regardless of the event, the industry, or the focus of your goal – it is critical to learn about the game, the rules of the game, and the best way to meet the objective of the game. The only way to do this is to become a student of the game.

What does all this mean? Honestly, it’s a lot simpler than it sounds! Delving in a little deeper, let’s use an example of publishing a book along with an example of running. Say your goal is to publish a book you have written. You will want to follow these steps:

1. Learn About the Game: Determine the category your goal falls in. In the example of publishing, is your book fiction or non-fiction? In the example of running, are you interested mainly in getting fit or, do you need to know more about endurance for, say, a half-marathon?

Once you know the category your goal falls in, you will know where to begin gleaning information to educate yourself. If you have written a non-fiction book on Chinese Wedding Traditions, for example, learning about publishers that focus on fiction isn’t going to help you much. Taking that a bit further, you will need to focus on the type of non-fiction book you are wanting to market.

Likewise, if you are mostly interested in endurance training, learning the ins and outs of strengthening your body for a half-marathon are most important on your list. While you could certainly receive worthwhile information by looking at fitness as a whole, you needed to focus more in order to truly “get it.”

Know your goal. Know the goal’s industry. Know the category.

2. Learn the Rules of the Game. Okay, so you know the category your goal falls into. Now, it’s time to learn the rules for that category. Again, using publishing as an example, you want to find the best publisher for your book on Chinese Wedding Traditions. Where do you start? What about the example of learning how to gain endurance for running a half-marathon? Where would you start?

Regardless of the industry, regardless of the category, there are people who have gone before you. Many of those people have written books, articles, created Web sites, and train or teach others how to be successful. These are the resources you want to tap! I recommend starting on the Internet because it’s a free resource that can give you a ton of information very quickly.

After you’ve spent some time researching on the net, you may find books, audio-books, DVDs, or even organizations devoted to what you’re trying to learn about. It’s completely up to you how you choose to educate yourself at this point. You can join some of these organizations, hire a trainer or a coach, purchase a book or five, or any combination of the resources available to you that you want.

Educate yourself. Study the rules. Learn the rules.

3. Learn the best way to meet the Objective of the Game. You’ve spent some time educating yourself on the ins and outs of the industry and the category of your goal. You have a lot more information about this than you previously did – CONGRATULATIONS! Now, take this information and you apply it to your personal goal.

Back to our example of publishing a non-fiction book on Chinese Wedding Traditions, the research conducted should give a clear idea of the correct publishers that would be interested in this type of book. Along with this, the knowledge of how to approach these publishers should also have been learned. Now, you know the proper way to begin meeting your objective.

In the goal of running a half-marathon, you should learn about running in particular. How you need to train and what to do each step of the way, such as the best way to increase your endurance, stretching exercises for before and after you run, and additional tips that will help you plan your attack. All of this knowledge will allow you to better plan so you will be ready to run a half-marathon when the time comes.

Research the rules. Understand the rules. Plan your attack.

4. Becoming a Student of the Game. By following the above three steps, you can become a student of any game! This is the best way to achieve the goal in front of you, regardless of what your goal is.

You absolutely need to acclimate yourself as much as possible. This will allow you to SUCCEED, which is the point of making a goal, isn’t it?

When you take the time to educate yourself and plan accordingly, even the seemingly most difficult objectives become easier to manage.

ü Learn About YOUR Game.

ü Learn the Rules of YOUR Game.

ü Meet YOUR objective.

People all over the world are learning new things every day. Education is an important facet in life, in all professions, and in almost every single thing we do.

When you were a child, you had to learn to tie your shoes. When you were a teenager, you had to learn how to drive. When you entered college and/or the workforce, you had to learn the rules of your surroundings. Our entire lives are made up of “learning the game” and of being a “student of the game.” Meeting your goals are no different!

This is Harder Than I Thought!

2008-03-11T08:50:00.000-07:00

By Cheri Alguire

Running is like business. You can do it by yourself. You can do it with a group. You can do it anywhere. Other than a good pair of running shoes or possible a telephone, you don’t need any special equipment. With these facts in mind, I figured learning to run or running a business wouldn’t be that difficult. After all, running is one of the most popular forms of fitness and there are so many small businesses out there. It couldn’t be that difficult with so many people involved in the sport, right?

Wrong! When I decided to get out there and just do it, I found it far more difficult than I’d anticipated. Who knew running (the sport or running a business) would be so hard? I realized, quickly, that I’d not only underestimated the sport itself, but my own ability to acclimate by just doing it.

You may find yourself in a similar situation, depending on what your overall goals are. It’s not fun feeling like we’re in over our head and goals are ripe for this. What do you do if this happens to you? Basically, you have three choices:

Give up. Wow, this is so much harder than I thought! I was completely deluding myself into believing this is something I could do. No way can I accomplish this goal at this time in my life, so I’m going to set it aside and focus on something I feel more comfortable with.

Blindly forge ahead. Okay, so this is harder than I thought, but that’s alright. This is my goal and I’m determined to reach it, so I’ll just forge ahead. Eventually, everything will sink in and I’ll be more comfortable and everything will be fine.

Learn the game. Maybe you’re feeling a little discouraged, but you’re not ready to give up. You’re also not ready to forge ahead without more information. So you decide to learn the game, inform yourself, and then plan your strategy.

What are you learning to “run?” You might not be learning to run long distance, but you might be learning to run your business in slower economic times. Or you may be learning to run your Real Estate Business in a Real Estate market that is so very different than when you first learned it.

What are you going to do? Give up? Blindly forge ahead? Or learn the game? The choice is yours to make.

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How to List Expired Listings

2008-03-04T21:03:00.000-08:00

By Cheri Alguire

With the average days on market up in many markets across the county, more and more Expired Listings are showing up on a daily basis. Expired listings are a great lead source, but only if you have a plan to work locate, follow up with, list at an appropriate price and then market properly so that it will attract buyer leads and then sell.

You can find Expired Listing on your local MLS system, or you can use a program like that one outlined at www.ExpiredRealEstateLeads.com that will do much of this initial research.

Then what? We will be talking about that in the weeks to come. Below you will find some information from NAR. What do you think about this plan? How would you modify it to fit with your market? Your style? Send me your comments and we will review that next week.

Prospecting Plan for Expireds

www.realtor.org

Use this plan as a basis for prospecting for expireds. Add other successful strategies you have tried as you learn more about what is most effective in your market.

Locate Expireds
You should spend 30 minutes each morning, as early as possible, printing out a list of expired listings from the MLS.

Focus on expired properties in your market area or that you feel have a strong market appeal because of price or features.
Keep track of how long properties that you consider particularly salable have been on the market. If you learn that a listing is about to expire, offer a referral fee to the listing salesperson to let you negotiate a new listing with the seller prior to expiration. This gives you the inside track.

What other lead sources for expireds have you found helpful?

Develop a Tracking System
You often will need several weeks of contact before you can convert an expired to a listing. Once they’ve had a bad experience with another real estate practitioner, expireds may not be immediately receptive to a real estate practitioner. You will need to demonstrate to them why you’re different than their prior salesperson.

Your tracking system should include:

Name, address, and phone number of expired
Information on the property from the MLS, including previous list price, and, if possible, days on the market.
Date that the listing expired and previous salesperson.
Date, time, medium of every contact, and response with an expired, in chronological order—for example, phone call at 9 a.m. on 9/14, offered free comparable market analysis. If you do mailings or e-mails to expireds, be sure to include those contacts in your tracking system.

Other tracking information you’ve found valuable:

Develop a Solicitation Schedule
Although expireds are usually sold on working with a real estate salesperson, a bad experience with their previous real estate associate may make them distrustful of your promises. Keep this in mind, and focus your solicitation on providing consultative services that emphasize your past successes.

Week One
On the day the listing expires
Mail, or better yet drop off, a marketing package. If possible, do something to make your marketing package stand out from the many others an expired is likely to receive. Options include, sending it in a colorful or oversized envelope, adding a special delivery or personal/confidential stamp, or hanging it on the door in a plastic bag preprinted with you name and a drawing of a house.

Later that week
Mailings: Send a follow-up letter or postcard if you don’t get an appointment. Again, provide a supportive message, such as “Sometimes, even a great home doesn’t sell right away.” Also include a statistic noting what percentage of your listings sell in 90 days or less.

What other techniques have you used for making initial contact?

Week Two
Recheck the MLS to be sure that the home was not re-listed. Also drive by the house and look for a sign. Be alert to the possibility that a frustrated expired might become a FSBO.

Mail another marketing letter, emphasizing your success rate in selling listings in 90 days or less. Include information on any recent sales near the expired’s home, to subtly reinforce the going price range for the area.

Other techniques for maintaining contact:

Week Three

Recheck the MLS to be sure that the home has not re-listed.

Phone calls: Follow up to ensure that expired has received your service package. Use this opportunity to ask if you can come over and see the house so that you can keep your buyer clients informed of everything available in the neighborhood. Low-traffic times at open houses are a good time to make expired follow-up calls, suggests author Danielle Kennedy.

Buyer interest: If you have an appropriate customer, call expireds and ask if they would be willing for you to show the house to a buyer.

Other techniques for getting your foot in the door:

Week Four
Recheck the MLS to be sure that the home has not re-listed. Drive by and check for a yard sign.

Listing presentation: If you’ve gotten an appointment and the mood is right, present a prepared listing agreement during your visit for signature. As an alternative, promise the expireds that you will complete a marketing plan of the property within 48 hours for their review. Present the plan, then ask for the listing.

Final letter: If you’ve been unable to get an appointment, send a final letter asking expireds if their interest in selling their property has waned. Enclose a personal marketing brochure and suggest that they keep it for future reference if they later decide to list again.

Choosing Your Accountability Circle

2008-02-26T08:00:00.000-08:00

By Cheri Alguire

You have heard the arguments for having accountability in achieving your goals and you’ve decided to bring one or two or a dozen people into the process of achieving your goal. How do you start? What can you do to make sure the accountability functions as you want it to, as it’s supposed to?

Who to pick and how many do you need for your accountability circle? For some, this is an easy question – they have a best friend, a sibling, another family member, a professional coach or even a colleague that they immediately gravitate to. Who you choose, and how many, is a very personal choice, but there are a few things to think about when selecting the members (or member, because you may only need one person!) of your accountability circle:

1. If it’s a personal goal that has nothing to do with your business or professional life, consider choosing a person who is in your personal life over one from your business/professional life.

2. Likewise, if your goal is a business goal – you may have a stronger feeling of accountability if you choose those from your professional life who will have a better understanding of your goal and the reasons why you’re pursuing it.

3. Select an individual (or individuals) that honestly want the best for you. Choosing someone you’re in constant competition with may have one set of benefits (you may work harder to win over them), but you really need at least ONE person that is completely on your side.

4. Consider finding those that have the same goal you do. Whether it’s a professional goal or a personal one, when you have others alongside you reaching for the same goals, it can become a mutually rewarding support system. This could be members of a Master Mind Group or a Group Coaching Program.

5. Hire a coach! Coaches are uniquely trained to help hold you accountable to your goals.

Once you have picked the members of your accountability circle and they have agreed to participate in keeping you accountability, it will be time to decide how often you will check in with them and how exactly you will do that. You could meet in person, over the phone, via email or even through some other form of social networking.

How about you? Who do you have in your accountability circle? Maybe it is time to find someone who will really hold you accountable and who really wants the best for you!

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Coach Cheri Alguir e is a professional coach who holds her clients accountable to taking their businesses and lives to the next level of success on a daily basis. See what her clients are saying at http://www.prorealestatecoach.com/pages/testimonials.htm or check out her wide range of services at http://www.CheriAlguire.com

Real Estate Agent Survival Guide: A Recipe for Lemonade

2008-02-19T08:00:00.000-08:00

By Cheri Alguire

Are you sick of all of the bad publicity you hear on the news about the Real Estate Industry?

Are you sitting on a bunch of listings yet not had a sale in months?

Are buyers running you all over the place and then too afraid to put in an offer?

Wondering if this industry is worth sticking it out for any longer?

If you answered yes to any of the above questions, then it may be time to make some lemonade.

Yes, there has been more bad publicity about the bad real estate market than we can even keep up with.

Yes, days on market are higher than they have been in a very long time in many markets across the country.

Yes, buyers take more work and listings take more work and even after more work, many times nothing comes from it.

Yes, there are a lot of lemons!

We all know what we are supposed to do when life (or the real estate market) gives us lemons. But do you want to make lemonade? Are you willing to stick it out? Are you willing to go through the messy process of making lemonade? It is not as easy buying that premade lemonade. It is not as convenient, it takes a lot longer, and it can be sticky. The first thing you need to do is to decide that yes, you are going to take these lemons and make lemonade. It can’t be a half-hearted attempt, that won’t do! If you don’t want to make your own lemonade, don’t really care for lemonade and aren’t willing to go through the process and work, then it might be time to find another way to make a living.

Harsh? You bet! I will not sugar coat this or say that it will be easy.

Can it be done? You bet! And it can be wonderful.

The first thing you need to do, in order to make lemonade, is to commit!

Once you have decided to make lemonade, there are many recipes to making the sweet beverage. To make it in this kind of a market, there are many recipes an agent can follow.

Not sure where to start? Why not start with one of these ingredients:

Expired Listings
First Time Home Buyers
Investors
Short Sale Listings
Builders
Bank Owned Properties

Remember, there are many other ingredients that are common in today’s market:

More agents are getting out or not even entering which means less competition
Sellers are not putting pressure on you to discount commissions
Interest rates are low
Both buyers and seller realize how valuable your services are in this type of a market and value you as a professional

So, are you going to make lemonade? Or are you considering something else until the market turns around? Or both?

In order to celebrate this market, I am offering a very limited Group Coaching Program: Real Estate Lemonade Making. Sign up to listen to the free preview call on Wednesday, March 5^th at 10:00 am PT/1 pm ET at http://www.prorealestatecoach.com/pages/contact-us.htm

Cheri Alguire has personal coached hundreds of Real Estate Professionals in all types of markets. She has been active in the Real Estate Industry since 1988 and has personally coached Top Producers, Rookie Agents, Owners, Brokers and Managers. Find out more at www.ProRealEstateCoach.com

Why Does Accountability Help You to Reach Your Goals as a Realtor and as a Mom?

2008-02-12T08:00:00.000-08:00

By Cheri Alguire

We have all heard the word "Accountability" used around goal setting, but why? Is it really that big of a deal? Can't we just do it on our own?

Think back to all the goals you've ever made - from the simple ones to the large ones. Which goals were achieved and which weren't? Make a list of at least ten goals you can think of, writing "MET" or "NOT MET" next to each one. This visual exercise may help you understand at least one of the reasons why the NOT MET goals were - well, not met.

My guess is your MET goals were accomplished with the help of at least one other person. A friend, spouse, parent, or colleague who was in on your goal, perhaps because it was a goal they shared with you, or perhaps only because they were interested in you and how you were handling it. Regardless, every time you bring another person into a goal, you have a better chance at realizing that goal.

Without accountability, most people are likely to forget why it was so important to them, quit progressing toward it, or simply decide it's not worth the hassle. However, with accountability - meaning you know exactly what you want, when you want it, and there is at least ONE other person who has the same knowledge - guess what, you will more than likely continue toward the finish line.

While humans are really good at admitting defeat to themselves, they are far less able to admit defeat to another person. It's actually (in most cases) easier for them to keep working toward their goal just so they DON'T have to admit they "gave up" to another person.

Accountability works for the following reasons:

Shared Intention - When you share your intention with others, it becomes more real to you, which raises the stakes.
Responsibility - By confiding in another person, you're claiming responsibility to the goal you want to pursue. This creates a more focused outlook as you pursue your goal.
Ownership - Own your goals by bringing another person or persons into the loop. When you take control by placing ownership on your goal - success is far easier reached.
Commitment - Simply by communicating your plan with others forces you, like little else does, to commit. You know they'll be asking about your progress, checking in to see how things are going, and they'll be very interested in the entire process. You almost have no choice but to commit at this stage!

So who can help you keep accountable to your goals so you can move them from the UNMET to the MET category? Do you need an accountability partner? Do you really own your goals by bringing another person into the loop? Who is that person going to be? Just make sure it is someone who will really stretch you, and won't hold you back to their level. It can be a friend, colleague or professional coach. Whoever it is, make sure they will REALLY hold you accountability to setting and moving those goals to the "MET" category!
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Small Business Coach Cheri Alguire partners with Working Moms, Small Business Owner Moms, and Real Estate Moms to hold them accountable to creating and following the plan that will take their businesses and their lives to the next level. Find out more at www.CoachCheri.com and www.RealEstateMoms.com

Accountability: Everyone Needs It, Even Realtors, Even Moms!

2008-02-05T18:18:00.000-08:00

By Cheri Alguire

Accountability is a critical element in the goal setting and goal achieving process. Many people brush it off under the belief that it doesn’t really make that much of a difference. This belief is not only incorrect, but the lack of accountability is completely detrimental to the overall success of achieving a goal.

Accountability is serious! In the Real Estate world, where there are clients, prospects, brokers, and agents, more and more information is necessary to keep things running smoothly. This increased amount of information is a form of accountability, as is communication, and while every real estate company will have different levels of accountability, I guarantee you that none exist without it.

In our families and personal lives, accountability is just as essential as in the real estate world. What we want, how we go about getting it, and the overall success can be related back to – yep, you got it, accountability. Think about how successful your kids would be in completing their chores if there were no accountability.

I remember speaking with a friend shortly after agreeing to run a half-marathon. This friend of mine is an avid runner, so she was immediately interested in the event and, wonders of wonders, even wanted to do it with me. If, by any stretch of the imagination, I wasn’t fully committed before this moment, agreeing to run this marathon with my friend Jennifer sealed the deal.

With Jennifer holding me accountable, I had no choice but to follow through – after all, I couldn’t rely on anyone “forgetting” about my commitment now! My friend didn’t live near me, which meant we couldn’t physically train together, but every time we spoke – she asked about MY training. Between you and me, I hadn’t even started to train at this point, but I certainly didn’t want to fess up to that! So, I’d lie through my teeth and say, “Great!” every time she asked.

Well, let’s be honest here – I could lie all I wanted to, but the proof would be right there in front of my friend’s eyes on the day of the marathon. By her continually bringing it up and reminding me, I was forced to keep it in mind. This propelled me to (eventually) get moving so I’d be able to answer her honestly!

As I said before, accountability is one of the essential elements in your succeeding at any goal you set. So, who are you accountable to?

You hold people accountable all the time, your buyers, your sellers, your kids, your husband. But who holds you accountable to doing what you need to do every day to be successful in business (following upon leads, creating the marketing plan) and in life (taking “ME” time, balancing time off?) Maybe it is time you found someone to help hold you accountable.

Maybe it is time to enlist an accountability partner or hire a coach. Maybe it is time to really do what it takes to get to the next level.
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Real Estate Coach Cheri Alguire partners with Working Moms, Small Business Owner Moms, and Real Estate Moms to hold them accountable to creating and following the plan that will take their businesses and their lives to the next level. Find out more at www.CoachCheri.com and www.RealEstateMoms.com

Top 5 Hints for Real Estate Professionals?

2008-02-01T07:59:00.000-08:00

The following article was in Rismedia this morning. I agree with all five points (especially number 5.) What do you think?

5 Secrets for Industry Success

RISMEDIA, Feb. 1, 2008-Many Realtors® often forget that they really have two jobs - the first is to do what they get paid for (and do it better than others they are competing against). The other is to manage their career path and do what is required to ensure their upward mobility isn’t dependent on others who may or may not be working in their best interest.

Below luxe real estate guru Robert Jenson, founder and CEO of The Jenson Group of RE/MAX CENTRAL - offers 5 tips to help aspiring real estate professionals better foster their career success:

1) Have a Plan

Create a Strategic Business and Marketing Plan for the whole year, starting now. Successful corporations have such plans, so why shouldn’t you? In this industry, the old adage rings all too true: “fail to plan, plan to fail.” Indeed, plan out your activities and strategies by days, weeks and months. Where will your leads come from? How will your service dazzle customers into referring you all their friends? Come up with a detailed plan, and go over it with your broker affiliate and others in the business.

2) Work the Plan

You can have a precise road map to a treasure chest, but with no gas in the tank, you’re not going to make it. Do you have an accountability partner - someone that you exchange goals and objectives with on a regular basis to help keep each other on track? This person might be another agent, your spouse, or a friend or family member - someone who will hold your feet to the fire if you fall short. This can be a fun way to help get you that extra bit of motivation.

3) Dress the Part

One’s “presence” plays a big part in one’s success - or lack thereof. In a nutshell, presence is a combination of how we look, how we carry ourselves and our communication skills. Carry yourself with best posture and wear attire that imparts your success - or that which you desire.

4) Role Play

Condition yourself on how to react - or not react - to stressful situations. Have someone role play with you in these dreaded scenarios so that you’re not at a loss for words, and that you choose the right words: “We want to cut your commission!,” “We’re interviewing other agents,” “The other agent said they’d give us some of their commission, ok?” Role playing scripts & dialogues on a regular basis will keep you calm, cool and collected when the heat is on.

5) Hire a Coach

Ready to take your career to the next level? The career coaching business is booming, and with good reason. Objective advice about how you conduct business, and how your business endeavors affect your “whole life balance,” can do wonders. Tactical advice will help you overcome hurdles that lie between you and the proverbial pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. Take your time and speak to other agents who have used various programs before you commit. It’s sure to be a great investment in your future.