Can you believe this?

I can’t believe this.
Yesterday while conducting an Elite Group one of the agents was so excited. She was calling her Sphere of Influence in her database and had a great response. “They were so thankful that I called to say hello.” Really?
Our afternoon group had conducted Open Houses the week before. Another agent responded, “We invited 55 homes in the neighborhood and 12 came by.” Really? Already working with a buyer and one of the neighbors invited the agent over for tea. Connection and future business.
92% of the agents that I meet for the first time do not use a database on a monthly basis. They kind of play with it in their Outlook, try to keep up with people with their Excel sheet and hope that they can remember to call past clients from their pure memory. Safe to say that there is no strategy but hopefully luck will come their way.
Stay connected. Building the real estate business is about staying in touch with people you meet and people you have done business with in the past. Consistently touching by phone and through email is a monthly and in some cases a weekly task. But it doesn’t have to be a task. It can be automatic and fun. Building real estate relationships can be difficult so why lose them so quickly? If you took the time and money to build wouldn’t it be easier to keep the ones you have and add more as you go rather than always be looking for new ones while some slip away? Think about the commission on just one lost deal.
Reach out. Spreading the word according to Malcolm Gladwell is easier when you have Connectors. Where are the Connectors? How do you find them? Oh yeah, how do you keep them? The database is where all is stored and maintained. Consistent messages and updates allow the Connectors to reach out to their contacts and spread the word about you. Without good Connectors you are hoping and wishing and that is not a strategy and has limited possibilities. With the right people you will reach your Full Income Potential.
How do I fill my database? Never buy contacts and think before you buy the gimmicks of how to build your business. You build it through open houses, networking, referrals, social media, websites, and relationships and through FUN. If you do all of these and not already built a huge database then you need to reconsider how you do the above activities. They are designed to build your database and create a business without the peaks and valleys.
Coach Phil
PS. Keeping contacts on sticky notes is not a system. The ink finally fades. Be good.

Politicians need votes, Agents need listings

Last week I was coaching an agent and saw that she had the ability to make things happen quickly and wondered why had she not been able to reach her full potential? She had tried the same old stuff. Social media coaching by one company, cold calling by another and yes “get 2 deals in 7 days” and all had led to the same results. A promise of deals soon and no long term plan. She only had so many friends to call and the cold calling was as effective as extracting a tooth without Novocaine. Her Facebook was cool and filled with other agents, family and friends. Her family and friends were already using her so except to send a few photos nothing was happening.
She bought into the hype of trainers, speakers and others that had something to sell. Honestly, I wished it had worked for her. She would have saved money and a tremendous amount of time. So we directed her focus in another way.
Politicians campaign in different ways. A national campaign such as the Presidential campaign must focus on all parts of the country. Distinct cultures, religious beliefs, lifestyles, and different socio-economic situations make it very difficult to get votes from different regions with only one message. That is why the candidate will organize locally and put boots on the ground if the area warrants. This is determined by the amount of votes they can get. State races such as for governor or senator are different. They focus on the state issues and all the fore mentioned. What about the local councilperson’s race or the mayoral race? They focus on the city or the district. The candidate in your city is not concerned about having Facebook friends 2,000 miles away. They have a razor focus to the constituents that can vote for them.
How do your local candidates connect? List the ways. You will find several ways they do it and not just one or two. It is all about the connection. Remember that all things being equal people do business with people they like and all things not being equal people still do business with people they like. This doesn’t change from industry to industry or election to election.
After you have determined how the successful local candidate connected then you will have a good pattern to follow. Did they use public events to make an appearance? Did they hand out fliers? Did they use social media? Were they on the radio? These questions should be answered and you will need to do the homework.
Real estate is all local. It doesn’t matter what NAR says about the national statistics or what other experts say. It is always local to the area you are working and not one community over. While Twitter may work miracles for the presidential race it could have no impact in a small town in Kentucky unless they are big into Twitter. You are local, working locally and your plan must be local. If not, then you are set up for spending a ton of money with little results. Don’t fall into the trap that you are only spending a few dollars on each outreach. When you add it up, it becomes a sum that could be used to make a ton of money in ways that are much more effective. If you work a seasonal market like Hawaii or parts of North Carolina then your plan will vary. You are reaching out to people that live in different areas. Does this make sense?
Does the candidate for mayor of your town use a website that is cloned by a company then put his or her picture in and depends on them to put in the content? If so then they were a candidate now looking for a job. It is about the candidate’s views, updates and when the next big meeting is taking place. You will not find Inman news or any other negative thoughts about the poor market place. You will not find the WSJ at the bottom where all the bad news about the housing market exists.
Does your local candidate do a ton of hand shaking at networking events? Thought so! Does he/she spend hours in an office looking at paper work or checking out the MLS to see if they could find some new voters? Thought not!
Every candidate has a daily plan. They will not sit at the front desk hoping for the phone to ring in order to get a free vote. They get up and get out and make things happen.
Does the candidate need help? Yes. They have advisors and consultants but never do they sit and hope that something will happen in the polls. They watch them with the anticipation and planning to change them for the better.
Why do candidates watch the polls? It is simple. They are trying to see what works and will not keep doing the same thing if they go lower. They don’t have the time to wait it out and will never keep doing the same thing if it is not working. They will change overnight even if it means no sleep. After the election the polls are no longer valuable.
If you bought into the fantasy that real estate is easy with so much time off then you need to know that the only people that get rich is the one that sold you that idea with a ton of stuff. They got rich and you paid for it.
This is only the beginning but a nice start. We have other ways of increasing your revenue if you are committed to change. We hear so much now in real estate about change and the Shift. What does that mean for you? Buying something else and hoping it works. Again, is it a local strategy or a sales pitch? Change is costly and difficult. Look to a famous sports figure and tell me it was simple. Did you notice in Egypt that change came with a great price and much sacrifice? Asked the people spending days in the square/park if it was worth it?
Phil Lamb

Real Estate Manager: Do you feel like you are herding cats?

I appreciate anyone that will take on the task of managing a real estate office. Soon the newness wears off and reality hits like the flu. One manager told me last week that he thought he would not make it his first 3 months. He was a successful agent for years but when the President of the company called him to manage he felt up to the task. Weeks later he wondered if he had made the right decision. Now he is on the right track but not without stress, pain and the feeling that he had handed over his future to other people and he wasn’t sure that they desired to make it happen. Simply put, he felt like he was herding cats.
Most managers were once agents and they worked hard. Do you ever feel that your agents do not do what they need to do? Do you feel they are lazy? There is a tremendous difference in you being a real estate agent and you becoming an office manager. It is a completely different skill set.
The news is good. You are in control of your own destiny as a manager if you know what to do. You do set the tone in the office and the agents will make a choice. They will love the new culture or they will leave. Either way you win.
Most managers may not have the skill set or the time to coach their agents. Too much paper work, legal questions, financial reports, and dealing with problems will keep the manager from putting in the time and effort to make it work. Even if they are expert coaches, time restraints will make it impossible unless they have only 5 agents.
What can you do as a manager to stop this feeling that you are herding cats and get down to seeing 85% of my agents making good money? What is it costing you by not making good decisions? How do you get back to making the money you did in 2004 and seeing bigger commission checks?
First Thing. Understand that you cannot settle. A current trend with most real estate professionals now is they have settled into making less. This is not a good way to go. Do not settle with a bad economy. Do not become friends with cutting your personal expenses just to survive. The American Dream is much more than buying a home. It is the promise that we can have more, make more and rise above the normal way of life. That is what made America unique from its beginning.
Second Thing. Develop an office culture that you are proud of. Why does your office exist? What is the purpose? The culture must be that of success and not survival. If you have a surviving culture your agents will settle for less and that leads to disaster. If you build a “success” culture then your agents will not lose momentum and will forge ahead in any economy. Why are the rich getting richer and middle class moving down? Rich people do not settle but take advantage of opportunity. They don’t just look to Washington to make more or blame the economy. Give your agents the same thoughts and opportunities. Instead of herding cats give them success. Help them understand that just surviving is not a virtue. They can build a business in this economy and it shouldn’t be optional. Your culture provides support.
Third Thing. Remove the confusion. Most managers complain that their agents seem to be lost when it comes to building a real estate business. Cats are on the prowl and they seemed to be confused? What are the standards and expectations in the office? Do you stick to them or get them the help? Who is leading or herding? Help the agents create a clear picture of the future with the right tools. This will take about 2 hours per month for each agent. Divide them up by groups like A-B-C and work from the top down. Set the parameters and lead each group by their talent, work ethic, and their desire to grow.
Fourth Thing. Be very focused on what makes money now. They shouldn’t be waiting on the housing market to turn around. There is plenty of money to be made now and a ton of listings in the area. Make your office or business meetings great not good. Give them the tools to put into place when the meeting is over. Follow up and be concerned about their success. If they are not successful your “cat herding” will continue.
Fifth Thing. Lead from the top. If you are in your office worrying about how to get the C group going then you lose the A group. Your B group will continue to do what they are doing or maybe a little less. Build a great relationship with A and B groups through one on one and monthly group meetings. The meeting had better be awesome. They are working hard but need direction. Leading from the top means you will need to grow as well. Great reading and studying successful people’s habits is not a suggestion but a must.
Why do managers feel like they are herding cats? They coach or manage from the bottom up. It does not work unless you are a cat lover.

Real Estate Manager: Left out or left field?

The worst position of the field is “Left Out”.
Our goal at Agent Power Up is to engage every player in your office: owners, managers and agents. We believe that when each of these very important segments is attended to – in a one on one partnership – great things do happen and the entire team wins!
We understand the pressure that ownership feels. Whether by producing more business or cutting costs, owners know that numbers have to stay in the black. At the other end of the spectrum, the agents need the direction, guidance and accountability to meet their goals and contribute to the bottom line.
And caught in the middle? The manager!
Often the manager is the forgotten player on the team – not by design, but by default. Everyone is trying to keep their end of the bargain up and the manager feels the pressure from both sides. The manager often is relaying or answering questions from the agents for office decisions that they may or may not have made. They often times are in the middle. Feeling the pain of the agent on a daily basis but also understanding that the business from the top must continue to be worth the investment.
At APU we are able to help all three levels (owner, manager and agents) or just one level depending on the need of the real estate company. We want your whole team to experience the win.
Mindset, Determination and the Tools to Succeed.
In the midst of constant advances in technology, rapidly fluctuating market changes and a business world that evolves daily one thing never changes: Human Nature.
The focus on social media, marketing strategy and the latest products and technology is exciting, but the forgotten aspect is that Human Nature remains the same. At APU, we believe that Human Nature is the driving force of any real estate company. Until the Human Nature in your office is tapped into, the latest tech tools and gadgetry are of very little consequence. Agents looking for a quick fix or the latest “must have” are really looking for help dealing with deeper issues of Mindset, Determination and the Tools to Succeed. If we can help your agents with those essential items, you’re office will be unrecognizable.
We need to embrace the progress but understand the driving force. People are still people and remain in control of their own destiny. It is up to each one of us to choose whether it is a preferred destiny or simply one we arrive at by default.
Office Fragmentation Creates Frustration
How does the owner of a company make more money?
How does a manager make more money?
How does an agent make more money?
If you are able to answer those three simple questions you will experience the preferred outcome you desire. What causes fragmentation or a misaligned purpose is when one of the three groups mentioned above doesn’t understand the basics principles of building a real estate business or a successful office.
• If Owners do not make the money or achieve the goals that they have set, it is for one of two reasons:
a. They don’t know how to do it, (Skill Set),
b. Or they know how to do it and they do not follow through. (Procrastination)
• Managers are the same.
• Agents continue the dilemma. It’s either a Skill Set or Procrastination issue.
How do I know this?
After years as a coach in the real-estate industry, some things are very clear:
• No Owner would deliberately sabotage his or her own financial future on purpose.
• No Manager would destroy their financial well-being by design.
• Not one single Agent gets up in the morning thinking of ways to fail or be unproductive.
As different as they seem, all three groups are in complete agreement when it comes to what they desire at the end of the day.
They desire to make more money and enjoy life to its fullest.
If each of the players on your team has a clear understanding of each other’s role and how working together can allow everyone to achieve their highest level of production, then everyone will win.
Can you imagine a day when the following would describe your office?
• When agents no longer wonder why the company is not making the money they desire.
• When managers are no longer frustrated because all the agents are NOT being fully productive.
Our Human Nature tends to push the frustration off on others instead of answering the 2 previous questions: Do you know what to do? Do you know what to do and simply aren’t doing it?
How do we move forward? What is the next step? How do we all get what we want?
This is business. This is reality. This is success in the very beginning stages.
We believe that all three elements of your office can learn to play together on a winning team. We believe that the real estate space continues to be the best business opportunity in America if done correctly.
We would love to discuss how to make a winning team out of your office. Call us today and see what we have in mind.
888-436-7779 Phil@agentpowerup.com Facebook.com/agentpowerup

That No-Show Irritated Me.

Come on. This has happened to every real estate professional in America. You get to the appointment all dressed and ready to show the house. You turned on all the lights and you stopped by the mirror to make sure your hair looked nice. Then the guy doesn’t show up. He didn’t even call you. You are now irritated.
This has happened to me several times over the past 30 years.

I remember one time I was so upset only to find out that the lady had been taken to the hospital. I kind of felt guilty once I found out why she was a no-show.

Let me tell you that the most irritating no-show you will ever encounter is when you are a no-show for yourself. You get up in the morning turn on the lights, take a wonderful warm shower, and get the hair just perfect and at the end of the day you feel that you have accomplished very little.

Signs of a No-Show:
• No real follow up plan for the day
• Not sure where to begin
• Confused about what is the goal for today
• Uncertain about lunch plans
• Anxious about a prospect’s decision

Signs of showing up:
• Can’t wait to get going
• Got my first phone call for 10am
• Will accomplish these three things today
• Have my thank you card ready to send following lunch
• Expect the prospect to become my client by 6pm today

The first step today is show up. Irritation is a result of not showing up. You have no control over others. You are in complete control of you. Go ahead and show up today.

Use your Daily Goal Tracker.

Running Free…

I remember as a child the times that I felt I was running without boundaries, rules or regulations, and just the security of my parents that everything would be just fine. I felt safe. My ego was not comparing my freedom or ability by what other kids did or had. I was just me and that felt good. I could become anything I desired and limits were not a part of my thinking.
Adults are always asking kids what they want to be when they grow up because they are looking for ideas. –PAULA POUNDSTONE
As a child I was not out of control on the contraire I was a good example. As least that is what my parents thought. I was running free and the world was mine. Know that feeling? Do I want to be a doctor, lawyer, fireman, President of the United States, or just work with my dad for the rest of my life? It was my decision and no one else to tell me NO. I was a kid running free.
WHAT KEEPS US FROM RUNNING FREE TODAY?
What do others think of me? Automatically this thinking has limiting and struggling beliefs. It distributes your power to others and you lose control. You lose control of your dreams and the ability to grow as a business person and a healthy human being. The effects are much more than income. It affects your relationships, your self-esteem and others around you. Leading becomes impossible and joy becomes a memory from a time when you thought you were running free.
What does my ego tell me? That I have to prove that I am right and that I must manipulate what others think so I don’t disappoint myself. I lose the ability to grow and ask for help. Why? I am no longer running free but at the mercy of justifying what I do instead of learning a better way of doing it. I stopped being a child and became an adult. Oh for the days of just running free.
Am I good at what I do? Am I leading effectively? Do others suffer because I have stopped asking for help or being open about my desire to grow? These questions are never asked by a child. The answers are simply their way of being. Remember the times when we were curious and always asking a ton of questions? Did a parent ever tell you to stop asking so many questions? Now we are adults and are assumed to have all the answers. What a tragedy that we no longer run free.
How do I know if I am good at what I do? The child never asks that question because he or she just enjoys the life and waits for the next big adventure. The adult compares himself/herself to what others are doing. This is a shallow and crippling thought-process. This behavior is a ceiling to growth. You will never run free if you are comparing yourself to others. Recently an office was rewarded the #1 in the company and everyone felt so good. But what are they comparing themselves too? If 10 other offices are mediocre and you are a bit better then what have you accomplished? You are the Top #1 Producing Office of the Mediocre. Remove the ceiling of your comparing yourself to others and begin to run free without hesitation. Feel good if you must for being #1 but only for a time. Allow you to be the only ceiling you have and then you are running free. You are as powerful as a child running free and the world is yours.
The Conclusion: Remove the fear. Take the step. Become a child and start over by asking questions. Let go of the thought that you have to prove your self-worthiness and stand behind what you have done in the past. Let it go and learn. The child may not be as wise as you but at least he/she is running free.

What do you do when times are tough?

What do you do when times are tough?

Business is not what it was 5 years ago. So what do you do? Several options are available. You can give up. You can struggle and commiserate. You can complain and hope the future is better. The other option is to GET TOUGHER.

Your mindset is the beginning of today. Change will never occur tomorrow nor does it have a chance next month. Today I choose to be determined to succeed. This economy is not my enemy but my opportunity. It begins in the mind.

Your determination is what you decide. Isn’t it interesting how we applaud an athlete when they overcome a big obstacle like injury or a near death experience? We never see the hard work or determination to recover. We just make them heroes because they overcame. Today you must be determined to be your own hero.

Getting tougher requires having the right tools to keep the momentum going day after day. Most successful people have tools. They know what to work on, how to do it and an organized plan that keeps them on track.

Here are a few questions to ponder and take action:
1. Do I believe I can do it?
2. Do I have the fortitude to take action today?
3. Is my daily plan set?
4. Do I know what I am doing?
5. Am I being honest with myself?

Building a business is like running a marathon. Hard work is not enough. Hoping is not enough. Being tough and on-track are a necessity. When times get tough you get tougher. I can’t think of many other options. Maybe failure is one. I don’t think so. I will get started today.

Raise your hand if you are in.

The 3 Circles of Business

I was speaking at a real estate office earlier this week and saw agents that are desiring to increase their business and live life to the fullest. How do we do this? Can we do this in any market? Does it have to be the way it has always been? How do we change the pattern?

1. Farming
I grew up farming. I know how to farm. My dad taught me from the cradle how to grow crops and how to harvest. It is simple and hard work at the same time. Some things are out of your control as a farmer. How much rain and how much sun the crop gets is really out of my control. All I can do is what it takes from my end and the rest is left up to the Rain-Maker. One thing for sure, you got to farm every single day or the crop will fail.

2. Database
If you have no place to store your crops for the winter then you have worked in vain. Useless and time spent with all the hard work that produces very little results. As a kid the most important part was taking the grain and putting it in the silos. We loved the silos when they were full. It meant eating and having money for the future.

3. Business
We took the grain from the silos and went to market. Pay Day my dad would tell me. Time to reap what we had begun several months earlier. We weren’t hoping that we made money. We knew we were getting paid. Business is hard work but if you have the model you will always have a Pay Day. I guarantee it.

I shared this with a real estate company that has the motto, “We are a farming company.” Don’t you just love to make money for all the hard work that you have put into the business?

The True Evolution in Business

The world of business continues to evolve and revolve. Where are you in this continuous time of evolution? Are you happy where you are? Is business going the way you planned it? All these questions and more are important to you and your future. The problem arises when we get so caught up in trying to get by in life and we lose the real value of who we are and what we provide to our clients or customers.
What is your value to your business and those around you? Now would be a good time for you to think this through. No matter the economy you are still you. Nothing can change except maybe the real you will come forth. Your value at this time in life is to care about what you do and how you do it.
Do you believe in what you do? The essence of you is what you believe in and how you respond to difficult situations in your life and business. You can’t separate the two, so don’t fall into the illusion that they are different. You are you and that is all you have in the value you bring to those around you. That is a beautiful thing if you live and breathe your ethics, principles and core values. Believe in you and what you believe in.
What do you care about? Is it your client or your product? Most successful business owners have been rewarded because they were giving their best to helping people or serving their needs. The product was only a vehicle and that increased their profit. Others wanted what they offered and they paid for it. Think through why you care and how it benefits others.
You are the evolution of your business. It seems that in a down economy we think it is the government and the conditions that have caused us to suffer. But I believe it is the beginning of a new way of doing business. It is where you help others get the desired results from our products. As you evolve with new ideas and new dreams then your business will show the value of you.
Take up the cause of finding you and believing in you once again. You have the power to make the difference and expand your business into a new frontier. You are the new frontier and the new vision.
This is not a political speech trying to get votes but a heart felt belief that you can create your future.

Please let me know if this was helpful or gave you something to think about. Email me at: phil@phillamb.com

Finding Solutions for Your Business

Last evening I was reading a book for the second time. I had read it about 5 years ago and decided that it was time again. Can you believe how much the book had changed? How can that be? It is the same copy that I previously read and thought it was a great book. The reality is that I had changed. I am not in the same place, mind or emotions as I was 5 years ago. The book is exactly the same. Needless to say, it is much better this time around. I am learning new things about me and my business.
If you desire to find new solutions for your business then now is the time to search deep inside. Think about treating your business like a living, breathing entity and much less like a possession that you own. You will treat your business like a person and will find solutions for each aspect of it. Trust me, you will no longer neglect certain things because you are not good at them or that they don’t interest you. You will search for answers and you will find.
Look at your business like your child. If you had a child that came home from school telling you about how well he/she did on a math test then you would be thrilled. If the next sentence was that he/she failed an English exam then you would change your tune. WHY? Because you desire the best for your child in every area of life, you will do whatever it takes to help them be successful.
Do you treat your training program as a child or a possession? Do you have a training program?
Do you like the way your employees treat the client or customer? Have they been trained?
Does your website look the very best? Or are you trying to just get by and let everyone at least know that you have one? Does it make your proud by passing the test or did it fail?
Is your follow up system in great shape? Does everyone get a follow up that comes into your business? We spend so much time getting people to come to us and so little money getting them to come back. What a waste of money.
Is your marketing like your competition or does it standout? How is it different or how does it make your competition irrelevant?
When we consider that price is not the only important thing then we begin to treat our business like a living, breathing and thriving entity. Breathe life into it. Give it the best. Let it live and grow. Stop treating it like you are the CEO and give it a chance to give back to you what you deserve.
Send me your thoughts: phil@phillamb.com