Monday, October 27, 2008

Reg Gupton says: Why do people fail?

Some time ago, I rec'd the message below from a marketing genius, Dan Kennedy. You can read more about him here I have read most of his over a dozen books and never tire of his message.

I also subscribe to monthly newsletter and CD service which I enjoy tremendously.

Read the following. Again, again and again.

It is that important.

To your continued success,

Reg Gupton

A series of No B.S. Articles from Dan Kennedy

Can You Handle The Truth?
Will You Tell The Truth?

We are very, very sloppy with language.

Consider the word "can't". People use it often, casually, and, mostly, inaccurately.

As in: I just can't seem to lose weight. Actually, barring a genuine medical disorder, the odds against somewhere in the 25,000 to 1 range, anybody can, in fact, lose weight. There's no mystery to it whatsoever. Reduce calorie, fat, and empty carb intake, add exercise. The accurate word replacing can't here would be choose. I just seem to choose not to lose weight. I choose to remain fat, ugly, unhealthy.

I'm not a theologian, but I recall one of those bothersome commandments brought down from the mountain having to do with not lying. I know a lot of people who profess belief in those ten, yet lie like dogs daily to themselves. You'd think we could at least manage some private honesty with self.

In my businesses - publishing, consulting, coaching, training - quite a few people excuse themselves from doing the things necessary to be successful. In 30 years, I imagine I've heard every excuse. Most quitters aren't very imaginative, so even the 30 year list is short. There's the old story of the guy asking his neighbor to borrow his tractor. His neighbor says: "Can't let ya. There's a horrible drought in Kansas." The puzzled guy says, a little irritated, "We're in Iowa. What the heck does the drought in Kansas have to do with me using your tractor?" And the farmer says: "When a man doesn't want to lend out his tractor, one excuse is just as good as another."

Whoever publishes the piece in which you find this series of Why People Fail articles is just like me and every coach, karate instructor, art teacher, personal trainer, business advisor; he, we, hear a lot of quitters' excuses. One of the saddest is "I can't afford it."

My friend Jim Rohn, a world class success teacher, has famously said: "Rich people have big libraries. Poor people have big TV's." Somebody visiting one of my homes said, "It must be nice to be able to afford to buy and own all these books." (There are thousands.) I said, "It is - but a good number of them were bought when I couldn't afford them."

They are cause, not effect. When Houdini moved from his country home to the city, it required five full-size moving just for his library of books about magic, performance, psychology, salesmanship. He did not acquire his library after becoming Houdini. He acquired it in becoming Houdini. Personally, years back, I found it less harmful to not afford a meal than to not afford information.

If you mean it as a drought in Kansas excuse to exit a place you decide you don't belong, a program for progress and success you refuse to stick to and apply yourself to, it really isn't necessary to fib to us or to yourself. Frankly, we don't care, and you do yourself no good with the dishonesty. If you sincerely believe you can't afford to acquire the information that leads so many to success, you might inspect what you do afford - your daily Starbucks run, your cigarettes, your nights out with friends.

Super entrepreneur Gene Simmons (KISS) wrote that anyone under 30 and not yet rich even thinking about taking a vacation should be shot. Anyone saying "I can't afford it" to the tools, support and direction needed to get to position where they no longer need proffer such sad excuse needs a good old fashioned, back out behind the barn butt-whipping. In my opinion. At least be honest. Look in the mirror and say: 1 choose not to afford it.

The WHY PEOPLE FAIL articles are provided by Dan S. Kennedy, serial entrepreneur, from-scratch multi-millionaire, speaker, consultant, coach, author of 13 books including the No B.S. series (www.NoBSBooks.com), and editor of The No B.S. Marketing Letter.

Sure-fire ways to boost Web leads | Real Estate and Technology News for Agents, Brokers and Investors | Inman News

Hi

Reg Gupton here.

If you are seeking web leads, this is a good Inman article.

See especially number 4 about capturing contact information to add to your database. Having someone visit your web site without your offering something free and having them opt-in is a waste of your money.

After they opt-in you can drip on them with an 8x8 and then your 33 touch program.

The lead time between beginning to look and actually buying or selling is often extending to over 12 months.

And most agents give up if the prospect is not buying this weekend.

Sure-fire ways to boost Web leads

All my best

Reg Gupton

Monday, October 20, 2008

Reg Gupton announces Top Producer 8i delay

Hi

Reg Gupton here

I rec'd this message from TP the other day. Looks like the switch over from 7i to 8i has been delayed. This is great news to me!! I hope for you too.

Now, keep sending them your concerns with 8i so when the switch over takes place we can all use it more efficiently and effectively.

Remember send your suggestions to support@topproducer.com. You might cc me to keep me in the loop on what you are suggesting.

Thanks for your continued support.

Moving from Top Producer 7i to Top Producer 8i

We want you to know that Top Producer 7i will be available for the foreseeable future. Based on the continual enhancements and addition of new features to Top Producer 8i, we may ask everyone to migrate from Top Producer 7i to use Top Producer 8i exclusively sometime in 2009. When this happens, you will be given at least 3 months notice.


To your continued success,

Reg Gupton

Thursday, October 16, 2008

Reg Gupton says: do you have a plan

Hi

Reg Gupton here.

It is the time of year when all good business people should begin to think about their business plan for next year.

The link below is an interesting piece about planning.

I've got a plan |

I have spent over a decade as a teacher/trainer/mentor with planning and marketing as the focus. And I have developed a state of the art program to help you develop your own personal business and life plan.

If you would like some help with your plan, comment on this post and/or send me an email to gupton@growthseminars.com so we can discuss your planning needs.

To your continued success,

Reg Gupton

Wednesday, October 15, 2008

Reg Gupton says: Practice make permanent, not perfect

Hi

Reg Gupton here.
I rec'd the following message from a friend and client. Ian summarizes the reason to listen to an audio program over and over again. And read books over and over. The power of repetition. I know, the audio program or the book is the same. Why would you listen/read it again? Because you have changed. And will listen/see with different/new ears or eyes.
Yesterday morning I was driving back to my office after helping REALTORS in in Longmont CO write their first Business Plans. I was on my 3rd time thru an audio program in the car.. I heard something for the first time. I know it was there on the first two times. I just did not hear it. This time I heard it loud and clear. It will be acted upon before the end of the week.
Read Ian's message and enjoy.

Reg,

This morning while rubbing the sleep out of my eyes and yawing (5:30 am), peddling a spin bike at the gym, and listening to Business by the book with Brad Korn. I had an AHA (NO not the band from Norway), repetition that's it!!! That's it, it finally dawned on me, after listening to this exact audio program twice before, teaching classes on the subject, and having numerous conversations with my business coach about the subject. Repetition is the answer.

During the audio Brad Korn talks about the Millionaire Real Estate Agent 8 X 8 and 33 touch programs and how influential they were and still are in his business. Yes, I know this is old news, but it all made since for me at that moment. I have been working the exact system that Brad was talking about, with great results. But what I had stopped doing was adding NEW names to my MET list (MET list = people who know you, like you, trust you and know what you do)

As you know I am an avid outdoors person and have a strange addiction to Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. Well, in the first year of my training, I learned if I wrote down every thing I learned from my instructor, each class, step by step. The next day in class I could teach it to others. And when I could teach to others, I had mastered it. For what ever reason I did not put the two and two together in regards to my business.

Now I have written down all the steps to my 8 X 8 and my 33 Touch system. Every step including, to keep filling the database. A wise man once told me: 'Think of your database as a large bag, like what you use when you grocery shop. Hold that bag in one hand. With the other hand, pick up the ping pong balls (euphemism for leads or METS). Keep putting the ping pong balls into the bag. Keep pushing them in. The bag get fuller and fuller and finally... one of the ping pong balls pops out. That is your next deal!! Now keep stuffing'

I guess the underlying point is, with repetition of the correct systems (and hearing the message) you will have success. I hope you have a great day.

Now Reg, KEEP STUFFING

Cheers,

Ian R Bennett
Mortgage Banker

Mutual Security Mortgage

2019 Tenth Street - Boulder, CO 80302
303.443.2050

Wednesday, October 08, 2008

Mastering referrals: Part 2 | Real Estate and Technology News for Agents, Brokers and Investors | Inman News

Hi Reg Gupton here,

Many of my clients have spoken to me recently about wanting a silver bullet for bringing more transactions in today's market.

Based on personal experience and compelling research conducted by the National Assoc of Realtors, the silver bullet if one exists is all about referrals. Read this great article from Inman news for useable tips.

Mastering referrals: Part 2

To your continued success,

Reg Gupton

Wednesday, October 01, 2008

Reg Gupton says: Help make Top Producer 8i the product it needs to be for your business!

Hi Reg Gupton here,

Help make Top Producer 8i the product it needs to be for your business!

I've heard frustration from many of my coaching clients about Top Producer 8i. The recurring themes are:
  • Find-ability - Where do I find how to do what I'm used to in 7i? Or did they just eliminate that function?
  • More complicated - It takes more clicks and/or keystrokes and/or scrolling to accomplish almost everything in 8i than in 7i.
One of my clients has begun systematically emailing support@topproducer.com with specific feedback as he encounters a bothersome issue. Although it takes a little time, he feels it pales in comparison with putting up with the dysfunction long term, or making a complete transition of his operation to some other solution. I agree.
Here's an example of one of his emails to Support:

RE: The Calendar
Too much other stuff around it so the actual calendar view is too small on my laptop and I can't see enough of my day without scrolling. Even the full screen view only displays one additional hour.
In 7i the mini-calendar shows the current date in red numbers, and the date you are working on highlighted in a different color. Only the current date is indicated in 8i, giving you no visual reference to the date you are working on.
The only way to see a future week in week view is to scroll to it one week at a time a real pain to view several months ahead. I tried selecting the week view, and then a future date, and it changes to the day view of that date so then I select week view to see that week, but it reverts to the week view for the current week.
Too many clicks and keystrokes required to create an activity way too much time and effort
Have to click in Description field to start typing (should default to having the cursor there)
Scroll box for time selection is awkward
One hour default intervals are too broad. We need 15 minute intervals.
Requires multiple clicks and manual typing to change to start and end times not on the hour
Requires the colon to distinguish between hour:minute
Requires fully entering am or pm
Should allow entry of 1015a and recognize it as 10:15 am, for example
Too much scrolling required with the Add and Cancel buttons at the bottom of this page.

I know that his email above is very detailed. I tend to write shorter emails more often. Suits my personality.

Consider starting an email to support@topproducer.com at the moment you run into something that bugs you. Be as specific as you can, and propose how you wish it worked. Add to it each time you encounter a problem, and hit Send when you are done for the day.
Share this idea with your colleagues today by sending this email to all the other agents in your database. We need to create some noise.

Together, our constructive feedback dramatically increases the odds of Top Producer fixing what's troublesome. And there is a lot that can be improved.

But, what if it's too little, too late? Some of you are asking, "What are my options?" What do other top producers use instead of Top Producer? Please share your knowledge of alternatives that you or your colleagues use effectively instead.
    • Maybe another single product (online or not)?
    • Maybe an integrated suite (like MS Office tweaked for Realtors)?
    • Maybe a combination of applications that work well together as needed (contact management, action plans, execution of mailings snail and e , listing and sales management).
I promise to share what I learn!

To your continued success,

Reg Gupton