Monday, February 26, 2007

There is a reason to do it right and the same way every time

More powerful research. During a recent conversation with a top agent, I learned that is pays to do it right.

Ever wonder why when you are working with buyers it works better than other times. There is current research that says the following:

When a buyer prospect is not met at a real estate office and there is no Exclusive Buyer Agreement (EBA) the close rate is 10%.

When the buyer prospect is met at a real estate office and there is no EBA, the close rate is 50%.

When the buyer prospect is met at a real estate office and there is an EBA, the close rate is 80%.

Take a look at the difference in close rate. If you meet at your office and get an EBA is signed, you will close 8 times more buyer deals.

There is no benefit in doing it the hard way.

To your continued success,

Reg Gupton
www.growthseminars.com

Tuesday, February 20, 2007

The first few seconds are critical

Last Saturday after teaching a class in a local real estate company, I was in the work room chatting with one of the attendees.

There was a page for a floor call. Someone had called on a sign or newspaper ad. The agent who took the call was not prepared. He scrambled to find the property information after placing the caller on hold.

I mentioned to him that he had 17 seconds to respond the person. He picked up the phone engaged the caller as he was doing the research.

There is much research that has been done on phone issues. The research says that a person will last 17 seconds and not much more before they are frustrated and less than pleasant when their call is finally answered.

The first few seconds are critical. Make sure that you are prepared and know what you are going to do and say when you get a call.

You spent the money to make the phone ring. Don't waste it.

To your continued success,

Reg Gupton
www.growthseminars.com

Tuesday, February 13, 2007

How to get the best out of your coach/mentor

For the past several weeks I have been thinking about the different levels of success that my coaching clients achieve. They are all bright, working to develop the necessary skills and have an appropriate level of motivation. Certainly not all are equal in all these and other areas of their lives.

And yet, some are doing brilliantly while others are not happy with their progress. What is the difference?

One attribute/quality that comes to mind is engagement. One of my most successful clients is fully engaged with me and the process. She regularly sends me emails between our sessions to run something by me, to test an idea and/or clarify her thinking. Don't misunderstand, she is not asking permission to do something. She is expanding the mental resources available to her. Outside observation is often missing from our work lives. We wrestle with our problems rather than expanding the mental horse-power we put on the problem. She is making dramatic progress.

She completes the pre-class and post-class paperwork in a timely manner. She reports that the forms help her focus on our call and more importantly focus on what she has agreed to to between our sessions. She also meets with me for 1/2 hour every week finding that the short session and short interval keep her focused and keep her from losing track of what should be accomplished.

How are you using your coach/mentor? Don't have one, call to set up a free 1/2 hour session to see if we can work together.

To your continued success,

Reg Gupton

Monday, February 12, 2007

A novel way to use a common technology

How many times do you talk to a service provider like a lender, title company rep, plumber or electrician about a transaction you are working on? Have the conversation, then call your client?

How about doing a 3-way call with the client and the service provider? The technology is widely available and costs almost nothing.

You will not have to take notes and/or remember what you were told, then call the client. Just get everyone on the call, have your conversation and be done with it, saving you time and reducing your risk.

Call your local land line and cell provider to learn about it. I am using it most weeks in a variety of ways. I love it!! And it is saving me a lot of time and hassle.

What do you think of this idea. Are any of you using it already?

To your continued success,

Reg Gupton

The best affirmation of all time

This may be the first and best affirmation ever
Every day, in every way, I am getting better and better.
It is by Emile Coue. He was a French psychotherapist (1857 - 1926)

What are your favorite affirmation? Post them below as a comment. We will then post them in this blog.

I check the web for a top rated book on affirmations and found a great book. It is available here for you:

Affirmations: Your Passport to Happiness

To your continued success,

Reg Gupton



Another affirmation

Here is are two affirmations that I use regularly for health and wellness.

I live in a perfect healthy body.

I choose to be healthy and whole

What are some of your favorites? Comment below. We can all benefit from those that you use.

To your continued success,

Reg Gupton


A great affirmation

As many of you know, the producer of The Secret, (you can purchase the movie here) a movie about the Law of Attraction and one that I have watched 4 times to date was on Oprah's show last Thursday. She was joined by several folk teaching The Secret including Jack Canfield. If you missed it you missed a very powerful show.

One of the messages from both the movie and the show is the power of affirmations. I thought I would begin to share some of mine that have made a significant difference for me.

One from the movie is: Money comes easily and frequently to me.

What are some of your favorites? Comment below. We can all benefit from those that you use.

To your continued success,

Reg Gupton

Monday, February 05, 2007

Make a lasting impact on other agents

Here is an idea to make a lasting impact on colleagues you meet at conferences and seminars.

How about getting a teabag put it with a business card into a small Ziplock bag and exchange it for a colleague's business card? I used to do this. I was memorable and I never had a situation where the new contact did not make the trade.

When you return home, send the new person a hand-written note referencing the meeting. Then add them to your direct-mail marketing plan and watch the referrals roll in.

Let me know how this works for you.

To your continued success,

Reg Gupton

Are you getting beat up on your fee??

If you are like more and more real estate agents the public is asking you to talk about your fee. If so some education is in order.

How about letting your sellers know how a dollar if fee is divided. Talk to them about how much goes to your company, the other agent's company and how much you will retain. A graph might be in order as many of us learn visually.

They will be shocked about how little you retain.

Let me know if you do this and how it works.

To your continued success,

Reg Gupton

A brief look at the future

Reading February, 2007 issue of FastCompany I found an article and a link you must take a look at. The video available here is 3:32 long. And worth your time.

The article is here, it is worth reading too.

Let me know what you think of this cool new technology.

To your continued success,

Reg Gupton

Sunday, February 04, 2007

Quit putting out fires

The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People
by Steven Covey

Most people involved on personal service whether in sales or delivering the service have a major struggle with priorities.

They spend day after day after day (getting a pattern here??) rushing from one crisis to another when there really aren't any. We just want there to be so we can feel important and/or needed.

An important distinction is between urgent and important. An excellent book on the subject is Steven Covey's book, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. I have often said to clients and friends that we should spend our time on fire prevention as compared to fire fighting. We should spend time working on our business rather than in our business.

Most of us are not emergency room physicians. We are involved in personal service. We can move smoothly from task to task without all the adrenalin. If you want adrenalin in your life consider jumping out of airplanes. It is less stressful on your body.

Give me your stories on how you spend time working on rather than in your business. And how you learned to make this important distinction.

Order now: The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, by Steven Covey.

Reg Gupton

They don't have one even if they tell you they do

During a recent coaching call we discussed prospecting like we often do and the difference between marketing and prospecting for leads for REALTORS. In a previous post, I discuss the important distinction between marketing and prospecting.

Open Houses are a typical way for building business quickly. Some agents say that Open Houses are not worth the time. What do you say?

I recently learned that a major mid-western real estate brokerage conducted research and found that 58% of the folks who visit open houses are not affiliated with an agent. Are you as surprised as I am? Most tell you they are. To keep you from following them around like a puppy.

So what can you do to systematically gather names, addresses and full contact information? Comment below so we can all learn what is working given that a majority of those that you attract to your Open Houses are unattached.

There are numerous ways to have prospects volunteer their contact information. What is working for you and your team?

Reg Gupton