What’s New?

One of the most fun things about fall is all of the new TV shows. Some will be great, some will be awful, and some will be slow to build. Some will be copycats of popular shows but one could be the show that has all the copycats the following season. The show that has everyone talking and will have the slew of copycats is usually well written and well acted but most importantly it is fresh and original. Maybe it is the way it is filmed  (The Office), the way the story is told (LOST), or the subject matter having a fresh twist (Modern Family) but something catches the public’s attention. Out of the slew of new shows one stands out.

It can be tough to stand out in a crowd all vying for the same amount of attention. Just as there are lots of new shows in the fall competing for viewers there are lots of real estate agents competing for clients. It is important that you position yourself as fresh and different to separate yourself from the crowd. What can you do to position yourself as “the next big thing”?

The first thing to do is look at your strengths and interests. Maybe you have an eye for decor- a brochure touting your staging skills may be just what someone is looking for. Maybe you enjoy photography- showing off your beautiful work may clinch a listing for you. Your natural talents will be the thing that sets you apart.

Avoid being part of the crowd. Set yourself apart from other agents and you may be the water cooler conversation.

Get The Monkey Off Your Back!

I have written before about how much Lois and I love taking our Grandkids to Smale Park downtown, and they always love the carousel. Recently we were able to take my youngest Grandson, Jordan, to the park by himself for his birthday. He picked the Gorilla to ride on (he loves Golilalas as he calls them) and when I look at this picture I had to laugh at the idea of him controlling the monkey, when so often we allow the monkey to control us.

What is the monkey on your back? What is the thing hanging over your head stopping you from achieving greatness? For some it is procrastination. For some it is disorganization. For some it is lateness. For some it is perfectionism. Whatever your monkey is, take steps to throw it off your back and take control.

When the monkey controls you, you cannot see your greatness or even what needs to be done to reach greatness. From behind stacks of paper or rushing to appointments greatness will allude you. Identify the monkey and take immediate steps that will allow you to take control.

Where Are You Going To Throw Your Stone?

Football legend Frank Gifford passed away 2 weeks ago of natural causes. Amazing on the field with the New York Giants and in the announcing booth with Monday Night Football, Frank Gifford was a multi faceted talent for the NFL. After his passing Gifford’ s wife, Kathie Lee, told a story about Frank’s greatest possessions- stones he brought home with him from Israel. When two of his kids graduated from high school Gifford gave each one a stone and asked them “Where are you going to throw your stone?” In other words, how will you make a difference in this world? How will you make this world better?

That resonated with me. We all owe it to our fellow man to be a difference maker. To impact somebody’s life positively should be at the top of our lists of things to do. We all have talents, what we do with those talents could make all of the difference in the world to some people. Where are you going to throw your stone?

One reason I think a lot of agents are drawn to Real Estate is from a true desire to help and connect with people. Agents are often active in their school community and other service organizations, not only to network, but to give back to a community that provides their livelihood. The places we sell homes are usually our neighborhoods and building strong communities benefit us all.

Many agents also have charities that they work strongly with, I have worked extensively with Habitat For Humanity and have really reaped the rewards of helping someone realize their dreams of home ownership. Offices are always pulling together to raise money for various charities.

Where are you going to throw your stone? How will you make a difference in this world? Live your life as a light that shines to others in need of help.

Infectious Joy

This past weekend we celebrated my twin Granddaughters’, Izzy and Gabby, fifth birthday. It is really hard to believe that the tiniest babies are now five and they have grown into such sweet and happy little girls. I love this picture of Izzy and I taken at the party because the expression is one of pure joy. The party, the friends, the games all came together and were immortalized in this snapshot in time of joy. It is really hard to look at this picture and not smile, not only because Izzy is incredibly cute, but also her expression is contagious.

Joy is infectious. You smiling and genuinely being happy in turn makes others happy. I know on this blog we go over the nitty gritty a lot and can get bogged down in the mundane but I think it is also important to pay attention to the joy real estate brings. You are helping clients realize their dreams, where they will raise their families, where they will watch their own grandchildren play. There is profound joy along with the stress of buying a house, yet we often concentrate on the stressful part. If you are optimistic and joyous to be around- focusing on the realization of clients’ home ownership dreams- it can only put them at ease and focus on their own excitement. Joy is infectious.

Joy is not only for clients. You are part of an industry chosen so that you can experience the joy of working for yourself, being your own master, coming to your own work life balance. Real Estate professionals experience the joy of freedom in ways that the 9-5 worker never can. If, for instance, you like golf you can conduct prospecting or build relationships on the course. Your hobbies can lead to a lot of your business so even though you are working you are still enjoying yourself.

Real estate is an opportunity to spread joy, to both clients and colleagues. In a world where we need more profound joy, you can be a catalyst. Joy is infectious.

The Place is Packed!

(c) Eric Marwick; Supplied by The Public Catalogue Foundation

Lois and I had a busy evening on Thursday. At a little past seven pm we had to stop for dinner, we were starving. Much to our surprise  almost every single restaurant was packed with waiting times of an hour or more or lines out the door in the case of fast casual restaurants. We finally decided just to go to LaRosas because we were so hungry, and as always, had a nice dinner.

Why are things so crowded in Kenwood? Practically any time of day the traffic is congested, the waits for restaurants is long, and parking is non existent. Yet people still go. The same can be said of the restaurants in Over the Rhine or the Shops and eateries in Rookwood Pavillion. Why are these places packed when other places are vacant? One simple answer is that business breeds business. Those locations have stand out attractions which in turn attract other stand out attractions which drives people to continually visit wondering what all the fuss is about.

Business breeds Business. That concept can be applied to real estate sales as well. Have you noticed that real estate can feel like feast or famine? That business can seem to come all at once? The reason is that when you are busy your name is out there, people are seeing your listings, clients are seeking you out. When you sell houses and send out postcards announcing the sale you are exposed. Staying busy keeps your pipeline full, usually overflowing.

So how do you attract business if you are new or In a lull? Network, network, network. Mingle. Hold an event to meet people. Make sure you are making your prospecting contact calls or reaching out via social media. Every listing or sale should be trumpeted from the highest mountain so people are aware that you are a professional that many people trust with their real estate needs. Sitting and lamenting that things are slow accomplishes nothing. The tools to bump business are at your disposal.

Business attracts business. The law of attraction. What ever saying you want to use, it is time to get busy and watch your business grow.

Illumination

Cincinnati enjoyed and was awestruck by Lumenocity for the third year. For those who do not live in the city Lumenocity is a beautiful light show accompanied by an orchestra that runs one weekend in the summer. It takes place in Over the Rhine, a formerly run down downtown neighborhood now enjoying a renaissance. When I was younger I had seen the laser show at Stone Mountain, Georgia and knew something similar would electrify our city. I was right, but I never could figure out the right spot for such a show. Turns out it had just not been revealed, Washington Park is the perfect background. It also turns out the mixed media 40 minute light show was even more brilliant than I imagined.

Lumenocity would never have been possible without the Urban Renewal taking place right now. Despite architectural treasures Over the Rhine had been written off as a relic of former glory, an area incapable of rising above a depressed state. It took people with vision to imagine the thriving, forward thinking hip community it is still becoming. Even after years of dormancy, what started out as a vision of very few has captured the imagination of the city.

Nothing has to remain as it is, our world is ever shifting and changing and new perspectives pop up all the time. You may be at a point in your career where it is time to embrace a new vision. Have you put off learning new technology or embracing new standards? Have you explored new avenues to grow your business like investigating new neighborhoods to farm? Getting stuck in a rut happens and it can take vision to get yourself out.

One of the reasons I ask my agents to map out their five year vision during business plan preparation is to get their imagination going. What will your career look like in five years? What steps need to be taken to get there? Is their a new, exciting direction you want to take your career in? Even if you are a seasoned agent you can renew your career in fantastic ways.

The vision to claim glory is within you just waiting to be illuminated.

Hall of Fame

Sunday night football came back, and while a battle between the third string squads of the Steelers and the Vikings was not exactly interesting football it is football. So I was happy. The game played was The Hall of Fame game which takes place the weekend all of the new inductees are enshrined in the NFL Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio. My favorite part of the game is watching snippets of induction speeches and the inductees reminisce about their football careers.

I bet there is an agent in your office, still selling or retired, that other agents  talk about with awe. These “Hall of Fame” agents can inspire awe and stories about them teach valuable lessons. Their selling prowess is legendary- maybe they had top notch sales in a difficult sales environment, maybe they had both sides of a deal an incredible amount of the time, maybe they took over entire areas of the city. Whatever they did they performed at the highest level of our field and were noticed by everyone around them. There are lessons in these stories. How did they accomplish such amazing feats? How did they inspire such customer loyalty? These are the questions you should be asking yourself as you listen.

Listening to seasoned agents reminisce is a great way to pick up tricks and tips of the trade. When you hear about a legend, who is a legend for all of the right reasons, it really pays to listen. Follow  in their footsteps and you may be the next legend that keeps people talking. You may be a future inductee into The Real Estate Hall of Fame.

Cleaning House

Sometimes, in the course of busy days, you can look around and think “Holy Cow! How did my house get into this mess!” Fortunately, I live with Lois so this hardly happens to me. However, there are times I look at spaces I am responsible for (my closet, my car) and I still see that there are definitely times I need to clean house. Putting things away, wiping away dust, throwing away things I no longer need- it is something that every so often needs to be done. Then I feel better.

How is your Real Estate “House”? Are there data entries waiting to be entered? Are there files that need to be put in their proper place (that place being not on your desk)? Are your appointments logged somewhere easy to find or on scraps of paper? Have you written thank you notes for summer deals? All of these things need to be done and when they are you will feel much lighter.

I know it can be hard to figure out where to start when clutter and disorganization are out of control,but remember, just doing one thing is one step closer to organized. It may take a few days to get everything together, but it can get done and then you will feel relief. You will be able to find things easier and more efficiently.

Focusing on organizing your space and your data this week will set you on the path to success. Sometimes nothing is better than cleaning house.

The Price Is Right

In the world of game shows I don’t know if any has been as prolific as The Price is Right. It has been on as long as I can remember, and it certainly shows no sign of slowing down. I think the reason that it stays strong is because people love to price things. If I were not in real estate I may not have that insight, but I have seen it time and time again when it comes to listing presentations. There are so many clients that love to play the pricing game.

During The Price is Right a contestant has many chances to guess the price and they come up with a guesstimate based on a combination of gut feeling and what the audience says. More often than not they are wrong, particularly on the large showcases where guessing the correct price is so rare that guessing the correct price means you win both showcases.

Some clients have a similar way of coming up with a listing price. They have a gut feeling due to the upgrades they have made and the fact that they love the house. These same clients also listen to the audience (their friends) for fine tuning. This is why a proper listing presentation is so important. When done properly you and the client should end up on roughly the same page which is what current market conditions will bear. The house around the corner that sold last year will not matter. The fact that the client has lovingly nurtured a koi pond will not matter. Realistic expectations come from a listing presentation that thoroughly explains to the client every factor that goes into pricing.

Leave the price guessing to The Price is Right. You are not Bob Barker, you are a real estate professional, and taking control of the listing presentation is the only way to ensure the price is right.

Tough Choices

The Reds traded Johnny Cueto to the Kansas City Royals. This kind of stings. Cueto was beloved in Cincinnati and was a great pitcher, but next year his salary would have been astronomical. The Reds, who will be rebuilding after a disappointing season, had to think toward the future and make a difficult choice. It won’t be popular with fans and the Reds had  better win next year, but sometimes tough decisions need to be made.

You may have come across a point in your career where you have had to make a tough decision in order to move your career forward in the future. Maybe you had to let an assistant go. Maybe you had to let a difficult client go. Maybe you had to invest monetarily in your career when it would mean a sacrifice in your personal life. Whatever it is the decision will cause you to second guess yourself in the immediate but if you hold on it will pay dividends in the future.

Making tough decisions is not fun but is a necessary part of life, and specifically the business world. CEOs and captains of industry make tough decisions everyday. They have climbed the ladder because they are not afraid to do what needs to be done to move forward. Every Top Producer I have ever met has come to a professional crossroads and had to make a decision. When your time comes will you have the courage to go through with what needs to be done?

Hopefully the Reds will recover and right the ship. Management is really under pressure to get things right, now. Nobody can say the Reds were not thinking of the future, though. They made a tough decision that will probably work out in the end.