Chickenhawk Scratchings

I've seen many posts celebrating the 100th blog entry, but to be frank, I completely missed my 100th.  Therefore, I'm celebrating my 130th blog!  The time that I have spent on Active Rain has been amazing!  I can't think of another forum that has allowed me to learn so much, while also communicating to my fellow agents and the public.  I've received agent referrals, listings, and more from my presence here. 

Now, even though AR is a business tool, I find that I am on here more for the enjoyment.  Gaining business is a great side effect.  Getting to know my new blog buddies has been great too. 

Let's see what happens at number 260!

When you watch a great movie that includes action scenes, do you ever think about the stunt actors behind the scenes?  It has got to take some guts to do some of the things that directors ask.  Even with the increasing use of computer graphics, stunt actors have a large part in the film industry.

Good stunt actors are putting themselves on the edge of physical danger. They cause us to sit on the edge of our seats by their hair raising exploits.  Without the stunt actors, movies would lose some of their addictive quality.

When you see a great movie, remember to think of those behind the scenes who made it possible!

There are many lead generation strategies that exist in real estate.  You can find a dozen nationally known experts who all have different systems.  Brian Buffini teaches referral business.  Craig Proctor espouses direct response marketing.  Hobbs and Herder encourage agents to market themselves.  Roger Butcher makes scripts and dialogues a priority. 

All of these are important, and agents should get to know the different philosophies and systems that exist.  Each of these systems, however, depends on one overriding concept.  Without this, everything else may as well be tossed in the trash.

That concept?  Mindset!

Mindset is the building block, the foundation that everything else builds upon.  What type of mindset do you need?

First of all, you need a mindset of success.  You WILL succeed.  If you think the opposite, you WILL fail.  Self-fulfilling prophecies are a real thing.  If someone convinces themselves that they aren't good enough, or they can't do something, then they will (amazingly) find that they are right.   On the other hand, should you have a positive mindset - a mindset that you'll succeed, you will find that you are right as well.

Please note that I didn't say that you would succeed in all of your wildest dreams (at least not immediately), because you must also consider the second item:  You must accept that you will fail. 

WHAT???? Bill, you just said that if I think success, it will happen... now what the heck are you talking about???  We're going to fail???

Yes, not failing is NOT an option, but hear me out.  You have to learn to fail well.  In your quest for success, you are going to have small successes and small failures.  Things won't work at times.  Understand that this is NORMAL and GOOD.  If great people didn't fail at times, they would probably remain mediocre.  Failure allows us to re-group and re-evaluate.  Systems and models can be tweaked, marketing can be changed, etc. 

Without failure, we would never get to the highest level of achievement.  So embrace failure.  Know that failure will happen.  View failure as the opportunity to succeed even more than before.  Read Failing Forward by John Maxwell for some more excellent ideas on failure.

So we need the right mindset, and we have to embrace failure in our quest for success.  The third item that you need to consider in preparing for success through lead generation is focus. 

Focus is a big part of success.  Focus is keeping yourself on task.  Consider your commitment to meeting your BIG WHY or your BIG GOAL.  Keep in mind that NOTHING is more important than your BIG WHY (which is why it's the BIGGEST).   Therefore, remember that if you lose focus, you start fading away from your BIG WHY.  If anything is taking you away from fulfilling your BIG WHY, it's affecting your focus.

There are a lot of catch phrases on focus.  "Keep your eye on the ball."  "Stay on target".  The point is this:  To the exclusion of all other things, you must remain on task and complete the items necessary to move closer to your goals.  The bottom line is this: When you are doing your lead generation activities, you need to stay away from distraction, and "stay on target."  The fulfillment of your BIG WHY depends on it!

So to summarize, remember the three parts of your foundation.  Get the right mindset.  Prepare for, and embrace, failure.  Finally, maintain focus.  If you build your lead generation upon this foundation, it will start you off on the path towards success.

Agents often ask me what techniques should be used to approach FSBOs, and I often give them the long answer about consistent, persistent, HELPFUL information over a period of time.  When they ask for specifics, the first item on my list is to introduce call capture systems to the FSBO.

For those of you unfamiliar with Call Capture systems (also known as IVR - interactive voice response), these are toll free phone numbers with ID numbers assigned to specific houses.  Prospects can call the number to get information, either about a house, or about specific marketing materials.

With FSBOs, the approach is simple.  I explain to the FSBO the basics about call capture, and then propose a win-win situation.  I offer them the call capture system for free, with this arrangement: when a lead comes in, I give it to the FSBO first to follow up.  If that buyer wants to buy the FSBO's house, great!  They can have it.  If not, I then follow up with the prospect to see if I can sell them another house.

Why does it work so well?  First, the FSBO sees the benefit to them for the increase in lead generation.  Second, it gives you an excuse to constantly call the FSBO - because you have to give them the leads!  They LIKE your calls, because you may have a potential buyer.

Try it out!

...but like any tool, they won't do a thing unless you actually utilize them.  I have Top Producer 8i.  It is a great contact management system.  I place my entire business in the hands of the Top Producer gurus.  The one thing that they can't do, however, is work my database for me.

Databases are living things.  They need to be fed.  You must constantly feed your database new names, and you should prune away the bad names (i.e. people who will not send you business).  Databases are a lot like bonzai trees.  You shape them and prune them over time, and they will yield beautiful results.

Another important factor is consistently communicating with your database.  Communication MUST be consistent AND persistent (gee, how many times have my students heard THAT now???).  Constantly be putting your name and face in front of your database, so that they will remember you.  Afterall, if Coke and Pepsi spend MILLIONS of dollars every year to put themselves in front of you (and they are arguably two of the most remembered brands in existence), that should show you the importance of consistent and persistent communication.

Finally, make sure that you reward your database for any referral business it generates for you.  Reward at the time of the referral - don't wait for the closing.  I'm not saying it has to be an expensive reward.  Sometimes a nice thank you card with a pair of movie tickets is perfect.

I hope that every remembers the reason that we have Memorial Day.  It is a national day of mourning and celebrating the lives of those service men and women who died for our country.  We celebrate their lives, and mourn their sacrifices. 

Too many Americans get caught up in the vacations or shopping or parties that come with a three day weekend.  It's important to remember why we have that extra day off.   I remember as a child our family would get up early and go down to the cemetary to put flowers on family members' graves, and place flags on the veterans' graves. 

We are free because of the sacrifices of some great men and women.  Let's salute them this Memorial Day!

A very important point to understand is that there are no bad markets, and there are no good markets.  There are buyer's markets, and there are seller's markets.  Why do I make the distinction?  In buyer's markets, buyers can get the better deals.  There are more houses on the market than there are ready, willing and able buyers.  In a seller's market, the opposite is true.  Therefore, it's going to be a "bad" market for someone, and a "good" market for someone else. 

Understand what the real estate market is before you start calling out that a recession has hit.  For one thing, real estate is a local market phenomenom, which means that the downturn in Florida's market isn't going to mean that the Greenville market is also going down.  You can look at some national numbers, but when one market is a strong buyer's market, another may be a strong seller's market.

In most of the country, this is a great time to buy!  Get out there and find some great deals!

Integrity is vital to work in any service industry, so it's no surprise that it's at the heart of the real estate trade.  If your integrity is compromised, you may as well hang it up, because word will spread like wild fire.

Unfortunately, we have to deal with people whose integrity is not up to par at times.  I have been dealing with a prospective buyer on a property who has lied over and over about various things.  He is not a client - I'm representing the seller.  It drives me crazy each time I catch him in a new lie. 

The worst part is that my seller won't stop dealing with him.  I tell my seller everything - whenever the prospect tells me a new story, I communicate it with my seller and document it.  My seller just wants to get the transaction done, and gives this prospect chance after chance after chance.

Integrity can't be optional.  If you aren't going to keep your word, or if you are going to tell a falsehood, you need to stay away from this business.  I just wish I could convince my seller to let this prospect go so we can move onto one who would truly work out rather than just giving us a bunch of stories.

Ahhh, the storied life of a REALTOR(R) *GRIN*

My old laptop is about to kick the bucket.  The drives aren't working any more, so the only way I can load info onto it is either through the internet or through a flash drive.  The memory is lacking, and it's just at its last point.  I have started thinking about what to buy to replace it when the time comes, and I have been thinking about a tablet PC.

Any of you have tablet PC experiences that you can share?  Pros or cons?  I was thinking of getting one because all of the contracts I use can filled out on the computer, and then the client can sign them right on the screen.  Are there other uses for them that I'm not thinking of?

Thanks for your input!

When other agents are singing the blues about the market being soft, or marketing not bringing what it used to, or this or that problem, I just sit back and let them fade away.  These people aren't really cut out for this industry.  When the clients are practically jumping into your car begging to write a contract on a property, things are easy.  When things get a little slow, however, agents start panicking.

Stop and think about what's going on.  This is the perfect time to hang tough and pick up market share.  Whenever things get slow, there will be those opportunist agents who got in for easy money, and they will probably hang it up.  Just bide your time, sit back, and smile.  Your business will grow, because you have the chance to pick up their lost business.

Smile and enjoy it.  Your marketshare is going up baby!