CONTINUING EDUCATION FOR CONTINUING RESULTS
61Has the time arrived for you to get your state requirements for Continuing Education (CE) out of the way so that you can renew your real estate license? Do you dread going through the drudgery of more boring classes that simply spew forth state mandated data in the monotone of boredom that comes from being forced to do something rather than desiring to do it? Is it a real pain in the hind end to have to be at these classes at a certain time, at a certain place, and for much too long. Relax. Do a little internet detective work and find an online school approved by your state to provide the CE courses you need. Then do it. In your time. On your schedule. At your own pace. And, while you are doing it, take the time to learn from it. You have to accomplish this task. Why not approach it with an attitude that says “I'm gonna get my money's worth out of this, and then some.” Turn drudgery and boredom into a positive experience which aids you in your chosen career of real estate. Remember, no one twisted your arm and forced you to be a real estate agent. Why not derive the maximum benefit from the Continuing Education requirements that you have to complete anyway? As you complete the courses, search for little nuggets that you can use to improve and enhance your career in your chosen profession. Remember, attitude is everything!
While you're at it, why not take the time to evaluate some other aspects of your chosen career? How are you coping with the balancing act of job and career? If you are worth your salt as a real estate professional you are finding it necessary to balance a number of duties in your job, such as: showing properties to potential buyers, scheduling appointments with owners for listings, prospecting and cold-calling for new business, and expediting the mountains of paperwork resulting from sales in process. Add to that staff meetings, new listing viewings, and keeping currently listed property owners up-to-date and, guess what? You have a very full schedule, and you wish there were two of you, right? With all of that busyness required to keep your real estate career in gear, we still haven't even mentioned the most important part of your life – your family. So, it behooves you to have a well intentioned and well thought out plan to bring a semblance of sanity to your hectic life, and to make you a better real estate agent, and a better parent or spouse. Consider these axioms..
· Family First – No, they don't pay the bills. But, yes, they make the bills worth paying! What's it all about anyway, if not about providing the best you can for your family? Guess what? The best thing you can provide for your family is YOU. Be there! Your career is at your mercy. You entered real estate so you can set your own hours, work around your family's schedule, and not miss out on the important things like Little League games and piano recitals. Now do it! Plan your schedule so it's Family First!
· Daily Details – The day is yours. DO NOT allow someone else to dictate what you do with it. Create your own, personal daily agenda and stick with it. Come to grips with what needs to be done in all the various aspects of your career, plan your day, and do it. Don't forget to include aspects into your schedule such as eating right, exercising, and uplifting your spirit with devotional, spiritual, and motivational readings. All of these come together to produce the best from you, and for you. Now, extrapolate that daily schedule to a weekly and monthly program. Use your time to its full advantage. Be the best you can be. No one will do it for you. Even if they could, you wouldn't want them to, right?
Isn't it interesting that you can take something as mundane as fulfilling your state real estate licensing agency's Continuing Education requirements into a motivational tool to inspire you to achieve new levels of commitment, confidence, and career satisfaction. Well, you can. The question is, “Will you?”
- What Moneyball Teaches Us About Real Estate
You may not be a sports fan but stay with me, as I point out one of many parallels to be gleaned from the world of sports and your business as a real estate professional. For those of you who did not see the movie (please rent it), Depodesta and Billy Beane (General Manager for the Oakland Athletics, played by Brad Pitt) came to the Oakland A’s after a six-season losing streak with the lowest player payroll in Major League Baseball. Conventional league thinking was that wealthy teams who spent three times as much on talent as less wealthy teams win games and ultimately the World Series. After four seasons of DePodesta and Beane as managers, the Oakland A’s won more regular season games than the heralded New York Yankees who, during the same time, spent $350 million more on payroll than the A’s. How did they achieve this level of success? The answer to this question produced an entire bestselling book, which did an even better job of unveiling the thought process than the movie. I have not read the book but have heard it’s terrific. It boils down to rethinking how the system worked by asking what they referred to as the “naïve question”…”if we weren’t already doing it this way, is this the way we would start?” GREAT question! How often do we continue going about our days doing things because that’s the way we have always done them? Many of you want greater levels of success, whether that be more commission income, more time with your families, more referrals, whatever, but don’t stop to ask yourselves the challenging questions that can and will take your business to the next level. This combination of thought and behavior demonstrates the too familiar definition of insanity: “continuing to do what we have always done and expecting different results.” - 2 weeks ago
- When It Comes to Written Communication, Less is More
We all long to connect with others and in the real estate business being an effective communicator equals success. As an entrepreneur, my ability to communicate effectively through appropriate means is a critical component of my success. I am fortunate to have an outstanding team and their ability to do the same equates to the success of our business. As real estate professionals, the same is true for you. Often, agents and brokers just plain talk too much! We have all been guilty of this – become aware of it and stop. The consumer doesn’t care nearly as much about you and your story as they care about your ability to help them get what they want. - 7 weeks ago
- Crazy Interest in Open Houses
There is a crazy amount of interest in successful open houses and that makes sense because we are in a market where the pent up demand of the past few years along with some decent economic news and continued low interest rates are driving hoards of people into the market. The keys to a successful open described in the article and its attached checklists and scripts is to engage people at the open in the conversation that leads to make an appointment with you to discuss working with you to buy a home. Stage the home as a place where, in addition to the house showing well, you are demonstrating your personality and professionalism. - 3 months ago
- Negotiating Tough Offers – A True Story
It’s one of the most interesting parts of my job. When an agent that I coach is in the middle of a tough negotiation I ask them to call me. Debbie did. The asking price was $769,000. The offer came in at $625,000. Debbie is smart and talented. As the owner’s anger and frustration arose, Debbie calmly explained that: “All offers are good offers,” that in this market, buyers feel that owners may be desperate. The key is that she kept the owner objective. She did not disparage the offer, the other agent or the buyer. She didn't compliment them either. Instead she kept it objective. - 3 months ago
