Good News About Real Estate and Life!

9.17.12 Monday News You Should Use

2012-09-17T15:47:00.001-04:00

Great article for those with TEAMS

2012-09-14T15:31:00.001-04:00

5 Leadership Lessons You Won't Learn in B-School

Forget vision, passion, and other B-school platitudes. Here are the nitty-gritty details on what makes leaders great.

First he spoke about the importance of inspiration. Then he talked about the power of passion. Then he discussed the value of vision.

Then I almost fell asleep.

I was sitting in on a class, and the professor was describing the traits of a great leader. I certainly didn't disagree with his list: vision, passion, inspiration, dedication, fairness, accountability. Those are important traits of a great leader. Still, I realized I would retain very little of what he said. Platitudes are hard to remember, much less put into practice.

After all, "Inspire your team" is great advice, but how do you pull that off?

So, as I walked away, I realized that most of what I know about leadership didn't come from business schools or conferences or seminars.

The best leadership lessons are ones I learned the hard way:

1. Data comes and goes, but feelings last forever.

Facts and figures are important. Explaining the logic and reasoning behind a decision can help create buy-in and commitment. Charts, graphs, tables, results, etc., are useful--and quickly forgotten.

But make an employee feel stupid or embarrass him in front of other people and he will never forget.

An employee made a comment in a meeting, and I instinctively fired off a sarcastic comeback. (For a long time, I was like a sarcastic-comment sniper, who figured that if I had the witty shot, I should always take it.) Everyone laughed but him.

And our working relationship changed forever. I apologized on the spot and apologized again later, but the damage was already done.

Spend twice the time thinking about how employees will feel than you do thinking about data and logic. Correcting a data mistake is easy. Overcoming damage you cause--whether intentional or not--to an employee's self-esteem is impossible.

2. Great ideas are never found in presentations.

Presentations are a great way to share detailed and complex information. Presentations are a terrible way to share great ideas.

After I drank too deeply from the Six Sigma Kool-Aid, I started interrupting employees who came to me with ideas by telling them to "put something together." Some would: Then we'd whip out our multicolored belts and talk intelligently about their data, their analysis techniques, their conclusions... Ugh.

Most wouldn't bother. Looking back, I don't blame them.

Great ideas can be captured in one or two sentences. Your employees have those ideas.

All you have to do is listen. And your employees will love you for listening, because I guarantee people they used to work for never did.

3. The "volunteer penalty" kills the flow of great ideas.

Your best employees tend to come up with the best ideas. It's natural to assign responsibility for carrying out an idea to the person who came up with the idea. Plus, if that person is a great employee, it's natural to want them to take responsibility, because they're more likely to get it done.

Of course, your best employees are already working extremely hard, so assigning them responsibility every time they have a suggestion naturally stops their flow of ideas.

As one outstanding employee finally explained to me, "I finally realized I needed to stop suggesting things to you, because every time I did you just added another responsibility to my plate."

Sometimes the employee will welcome the responsibility for carrying out their idea. Other times they won't.

How do you know which way a particular employee will respond?

Ask.

4. Sharing only the positive always results in a negative.

Imagine you're sharing the reasoning behind a decision with your team. Naturally, you describe the positive outcomes of the decision. So you whip out your pom-poms and start cheering.

Meanwhile your employees are instinctively looking for negatives, since almost every silver lining for the business has a black cloud for at least a few employees. I once described how a change to paper dust collection would improve the air quality throughout the plant, but I left out the fact that as a result a few employees would spend at least part of each day looking like they had rolled in a bathtub filled with flour.

Never leave out the negatives, even if those negatives may be potential rather than actual. Talk openly about any downsides, especially when those downsides directly affect employees. Show you understand the best and the worst that can happen and what that might mean to your team.

When you freely discuss potential negatives, employees not only respect you more, they often work harder to make sure those potential negatives don't occur.

5. Data is accurate, but people are right.

You're smart. You're talented. You're educated. Data analysis is your best friend. Sometimes your data will lead to an inescapable conclusion, and yet you should still make a different decision.

I once moved two crews of about 30 people to a different shift rotation because I knew the resulting process flow would automatically improve overall productivity by about 10%. I also knew--because they told me--that most of them would hate the new rotation, but I held firm, because I knew great leaders are willing to make tough decisions and do whatever it takes to get results.

It turns out I had that all wrong.

Sure, my new shift rotation worked on paper. It even worked in practice. But it screwed up the family lives of a number of great employees, and I finally pulled my head out of my (butt) and shifted everyone back to the old rotation. We found other ways to improve productivity.

Sometimes a decision should be based on more than analysis, logic, and reasoning. No decision should ever be made in a vacuum, because a decision must eventually be carried out by people.

Leadership should be data driven, but great leadership is often subjective and even messy.

If your employees don't agree with you, ask why, but don't ask just so you can defend your position. Ask in order to learn.

You know things your employees don't know, and they know things you don't know--until you listen to what they say.

Jeff Haden learned much of what he knows about business and technology as he worked his way up in the manufacturing industry. Everything else he picks up fromghostwriting books for some of the smartest leaders he knows in business. @jeff_haden

9.10.12 Monday News you should USE!

2012-09-10T08:32:00.001-04:00

The trick is in what one emphasizes. We either make ourselves miserable, or we make ourselves strong. The amount of work is the same. – Carlos Castaneda
Where are you putting your attention?

Even the Feds are getting involved :) Call your clients and educate them about refinancing!

Chase is even offering some clients refinancing without them asking.

WSJ - signs that market truly did hit bottom!
You never know you hit bottom until AFTER it's past... (remember the clock?)

California leading the way! Prices at 4 year high

Canada preparing for a rate hike?

From the Coaches that Emphasize YOUR Strengths!
YourCoachingMatters.com

Last Call Script Revisited....

2012-09-06T14:08:00.001-04:00

New Coaching Client just asked: Hi Donna, If I have non-responsive people that I'd like to give one last call, what verbiage should I use? I don't want to sound rude at all, but I want them to know that I'm done unless they call or email me back. Is that a good strategy?
Thanks,
Phillip Baird Realtor Keller Williams Realty
512-289-5738

My reply:

Absolutely!
I call it the "last call" script….and it works. It's like the the window is closing...

Hey, this is Phillip Baird with Keller Williams calling again…
I sure don't want to be bugging you guys - I'm not that kind of salesperson - But I need to hear back from you if you are still at ALL interested in doing some business with me… either now, or in the future!
If you've found someone else, great… no need to get back with me. But if not… I want to earn the right to be YOUR agent. All I need from you is a quick call or email that says "Don't give up on me" and I promise… I won't!

I'll also send an email you can just hit "reply" and handle this… or give me a call at XXXXX.

If I DON'T hear back from you I want you to know this will be my LAST CALL… I'm yours if you want me… and if not, I wish you the best and you of COURSE can always reach out to me and I'll be here… but I won't be calling again unless I hear from you!

Use your words, but something like this….

9.4.12 Monday News you should USE

2012-09-04T10:04:00.001-04:00

For every sale you miss because you’re too enthusiastic, you will miss a hundred because you’re not enthusiastic enough.
-Zig Ziglar

Hottest and Coldest Markets. Atlanta's #1 - buy your cash fling investments here now!

Pending sales show a Healthy Market! As strong as when we had a $8000 buyers credit!

What do the lower interest rates mean? Real Savings!

Hottest Lending Product! Jumbo mortgages are back!

Short Sales - the general public still has questions you can answer!

One of Canada's top agents and how he does it! He says work hard for 5 years!

The Enthusiastic Coaches @
YourCoachingMatters.com

Ever used Wordle?

2012-08-30T11:54:00.001-04:00

word_cloud_5*.pdf Download this file

8.27.2012 Monday News you can USE (use these articles to contact DB)

2012-08-28T15:44:00.001-04:00

Success isn't outscoring someone, it's the peace of mind that comes from self-satisfaction in knowing you did your best. Success is a journey, not a destination--half the fun is getting there. -GITA BELLIN, A Sharing of Completion and Celebration

Some good numbers and interesting viewpoints- VIDEO - let it load: Foreclosures are Awesome

Home depot believes we’ve recovered. Home Building Up

How bad do you want it? Great Motivational Speech (thanks Eric Thomas)

Will Short Sales wipe-out price gains? Is NOW is the time to sell for best price?

Working with FSBO's - Homesellers using a realtor TWICE as likely to sell!

Affordable places to live! If you're in one of them - then tell your buyers!

Canadian Home Prices - stable!!!

Your Peace of Mind, having Fun along the way Coaches!
YourCoachingMatters.com
678-232-0927
mike.stott@mac.com

Falling into the trap of overthinking?

2012-08-22T09:57:00.001-04:00

From Gretchen Rubin's blog today (the Happiness Project): I was looking up something in Professor Sonja Lyubomirsky’s book, The How of Happiness, and I came across an interesting passage. (I’d marked it, so clearly I’d read it before, but I didn’t remember it well.)

Many of us believe that when we feel down, we should try to focus inwardly and evaluate our feelings and our situation in order to attain self-insight and find solutions that might ultimately resolve our problems and relieve unhappiness. Susan Nolen-Hoeksema, I, and others have compiled a great deal of evidence challenging this assumption. Numerous studies over the past two decades have shown that to the contrary, overthinking ushers in a host of adverse consequences: It sustains or worsens sadness, fosters negatively biased thinking, impairs a person’s ability to solve problems, saps motivation, and interferes with concentration and initiative. Moreover, although people have a strong sense that they are gaining insight into themselves and their problems during their ruminations, this is rarely the case. What they do gain is a distorted, pessimistic perspective on their lives.

One of the tensions within happiness — at least for me — is the tension between constructive attempts at greater self-knowledge and pointless rumination. Once I started paying more attention to my habits of thinking, I began to do a better job of refraining from overthinking. When I find myself thinking in circles, I find an area of refuge, say, or I re-read one of my favorite works of children’s literature — my favorite emotional comfort food. Or, if it’s nightime, I go to bed early. Things really do look better after a good night’s sleep, and often something that had me agitated the night before seems much less worrisome the next morning.

Wisdome of Flannery O'Connor... from 1962

2012-08-20T15:19:00.001-04:00

From Gretchen today: “If you do the same thing every day at the same time for the same length of time, you’ll save yourself from many a sink. Routine is a condition of survival.”

–Flannery O’Connor, The Habit of Being, letter to “A,” February 10, 1962

Here, O’Connor was specifically talking about the habit of writing; she wrote every morning for three hours, in the same place at the same time. How about you? Do you find accomplishing certain things to be easier if you regularly do them the same way? Or do you find routine stifling?

I love routine.

8.20.2012 Monday NEWS you can USE (are you using it?)

2012-08-20T15:12:00.001-04:00

A Dictionary is the only place that success comes before work. Hard work is the price we must pay for success. I think you can accomplish anything if you're willing to pay the price.
Vince Lombardi

Wondering how to use an iPad in your business? Here are some ideas

Got Super Rich clients? Check this out!

Got first time buyers? You might want to send this to them (easy ways to repair the home.) The video is harmless!

FSBO gets lots of attention but no sale! Read all about it... (and USE this to help others figure out why THEY aren't selling)

Downpayment hard to save for first time Canadian buyers!

From the coaches not afraid to work hard with you!

YourCoachingMatters.com
678-232-0927
mike.stott@mac.com

8.13.2012 Monday News you can USE

2012-08-13T09:17:00.001-04:00

All these nice people saying I'm going to be world champion won't make me any faster, you have to believe it yourself.
Sebastian Vettel (Formula One Race Car Driver Champion)

Fannie and Freddie won't forgive Principal - if you have sellers waiting for this - let them know it may be unlikely.

Got any buyers? Low interest rates and costs to buy are lower too! Great one to send to buyers waiting...

Hard to argue against buying a house now as an investment!

House Flipping - Reality TV is the best bet?

Help your past clients (a good reason to CALL THEM TODAY) - ask them if they should refinance!

Canadian Market at a tipping point?

From The Coaches who don't just say "you're great"; we teach you to believe in yourself!
YourCoachingMatters.com

7.16.2012 Monday News you can USE

2012-07-16T09:09:00.001-04:00

Life is either a daring adventure or nothing.
Helen Keller

What adventures are you going on this week?

How can you use this in your business? Flipboard - Talk about innovation - and look at what they think about banner ads, tiny ads etc.

Mortgage Rates - all time lows. In Atlanta - rates were at 3.375% for a 30 year fixed! For someone currently at 5% and with a $200,000 balance a refinance would save them $190 a month on a refi! We recommend you call all your past clients and centers of influence!

Sign of the recovery - stocks for homebuilders going up!

44 out of 47 Economists agree - Housing market bust is over - the real estate market is "far from healthy yet" and "plenty could go wrong." But we've turned a corner. Also read the Huffington Post Article

Increased Safety for your Sellers - read this article. This will show them that you "know more than they do." Might be a great article to give to FSBO's too!

The Real Estate Safari Guides @
YourCoachingMatters.com
678-232-0927
mike.stott@mac.com

Just a little Thought....

2012-07-10T11:03:00.001-04:00

Where is there an opportunity to make some $$ and develop a relationship out of this interaction...?

Can I help you sell?

Can I help you buy?

Can I refer you to someone (even if you "arlready have an agent") for a listing or sale (or 2nd opinion)?

Can I help you rent/lease (or refer you to someone that does that)?

Can I provide a service-for-a-fee that you need?

Can I EARN your business and referrals?

7.9.2012 Monday NEWS you can USE!

2012-07-09T12:07:00.001-04:00

A dream doesn't become reality through magic; it takes sweat, determination and hard work.
Colin Powell

Rates still at all-time lows!

FHA Mortgages being Foreclosed on at high rates...

Think you've heard all the horror-stories out there in Real Estate? Here's a new one!

TOP TEN recovering markets!

Brace Yourself - Bloomburg says the market is recovering- WOW

Canada's Largest Home?

From the Dream Achieving Coaching Gang @
YourCoachingMatters.com
mike.stott@mac.com

Just a few pieces of Good News...

2012-07-03T10:03:00.001-04:00

• Gas prices continue to drop, just in time for car vacations this summer

• Mortgage interest rates are at all time lows since they started tracking in the 1950's...

• Prices have bottomed in most areas and have started re-bounding in others. It's cheaper to buy a house compared to ANY time in the past in terms of average income to average cost ratio (hovering around 15% right now) and compared to renting (about 77% of what it costs to rent overall).

• Stock market has rebounded again up 700 points since January; up 200 points from a year ago; an over DOUBLE of 3 years ago...

• The Happy Movie has 8 Winners in various categories... its' a good thing. http://www.thehappymovie.com/

• The author of the Happiness Project is releasing a new book (by the way, July is Money Month if you're reading the book)...

7.2.2012 Monday News You can Use

2012-07-02T10:51:00.001-04:00

“Time is the most valuable coin in your life. You and you alone will determine how that coin will be spent. Be careful that you do not let other people spend it for you.”
― Carl Sandburg

How are you spending your time this month?

What's a REIT?

Had a client who was foreclosed upon? They may be due some money!

Homes sales slow slightly but STILL UP!

Read about the worst deal in the history of American Finance!

Canada's market still going strong!

6.25.12 Monday News You can USE!

2012-06-25T13:56:00.001-04:00

“Success is getting what you want..
Happiness is wanting what you get.”
― Dale Carnegie

Tighter supply of lower priced homes Slowing Sales (??spin selling here??)

$100,000 Rentals Not that rare

Priciest Cities to Rent

Ways to Work with Chinese Investors Or... find some Local ones instead to buy at all time lowest prices and rates! :)

Here's a "No Duh!" Mortgage reductions are working and there's $13 Billion that the big banks must spend on Mortgage reductions! Seems like Government/Judicial involvement may get this solved after all...

Recovery? To show your Sellers: May numbers discouraging

6.18.2012 Monday News you can USE

2012-06-18T09:07:00.001-04:00

“I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.”
― Maya Angelou

Make Someone Feel Good today!!!

Cities leveling housing: Why?

Why Banks WANT to work with HARP: Money

Why there aren't more homes for sale. (California at 2005 numbers)

Compare what $163.000 Buys across the country! FUN READ

Canada sales up 3.8% Nationwide! Details Here

Are you using Dropbox? You should be! Very very very handy tool for agents and file/document handling. If you're not sure why you should use it - send me an email to mike.stott@mac.com and I'll tell you!

Compliments of The "Feel Good by Doing Good" Coaches at
YourCoachingMatters.com

6.11.12 Monday NEWS you can USE!

2012-06-11T09:00:00.001-04:00

Mortgage Rates at 62 year low It's never been lower guys - are you spreading that news to the rooftops! WHY NOT?? - It's the best time in the history to buy real estate in the US!

A bunch of Experts answer the question: has the market bottomed out?

As the boomers age is this a market we should explore?

Foreclosures made up 26% of all sales in 1st quarter wonder how many short sales were done?

Foreign investors in Toronto helping fuel price increases!

One of the things we love about real estate - it's a career with Heart! :)
"When people go to work, they shouldn't have to leave their hearts at home.” --Betty Bender

From the Gang at Your Coaching Matters.... here to help!

6.4.2012 Monday News you can USE!

2012-06-04T17:10:00.001-04:00

“So be sure when you step, Step with care and great tact. And remember that life's A Great Balancing Act.

And will you succeed? Yes! You will, indeed! (98 and ¾ percent guaranteed) Kid, you'll move mountains.”

― Dr. Seuss, Oh, The Places You'll Go!

What would you do today if you were guaranteed success? If you knew you could not fail? If every 10th person you asked said "Yes, I AM moving this year" ?- Here's the secret … they do! Over 12,000 coaching calls and tracking of the numbers prove it!

Housing Market -in Slow Recovery

Location, Location, Location - trailers renting for $2000 a month

This could be a game changer - FNMA and FHLMC exploring principal reduction refinances in Nevada

People do criminal things when they are desperate - HOA scam

Canada's Market still going strong

5.21.12 Monday News you can USE

2012-05-22T11:37:00.001-04:00

I have never seen a bad television program, because I refuse to. God gave me a mind, and a wrist that turns things off.
- Jack Paar

What choices are you making with regards to what's going into your head? YCM

Have clients who went through foreclosure? Check this out! The banks are sending out 4 million more letters to offer to pay restitution to those they made mistakes on - only 4.1% responded to the first mailing! I wonder if they mailed it to the foreclosed property address :)

Hey - all you Canadian Real Estate agents - your clients are investing in the USA maybe you should refer some of them to fellow YCM agents!!

Time Magazine - Housing recovery has officially begun!

Interesting statistics in this Article - Bank of America offering up to $30,000 to complete a short sale!
Average Sales Price Foreclosure: $150,000 Short Sales: $185,000 and then add in increased expenses with a foreclosure for taxes, maintenance fees, condition of the home, and attorneys fees and it's easy to see this makes dollars and sense! Wells Fargo and Chase are also contemplating doing more of this!

Got a neighborhood farm - look at this NextDoor.com cool site with some really useful features.

Are you ready for the Echo Boomers?

5.14.12 Monday News you can USE!

2012-05-14T09:26:00.001-04:00

John Maxwell says - “If we’re growing, we’re always going to be out of our comfort zone.”

How are you growing today?
What are you going to do today that makes you a little bit uncomfortable and will help you reach your goals?

Buyers - Mortgages at New Lows

Inventory Down 41% - And when that happens, what normally happens to prices?

10 Markets Poised for Double Digit Gains - Is one of them YOURS? BIGGEST NEWS TO SHARE!

Let us know which expert you think is right? Is now the best time to buy your first home?

How to fire a pushy agent - Some good nuggets and insight into a buyers mind.

Great Ideas are valuable How one Canadian traded a paperclip for a house! Play Big & Better this week! Love this quote:
The experience wasn’t about gaining a house. It was the power of “working together to make it happen” and being “open to adventure”.If I had not traded away that first paperclip, none of this would have happened” It’s not really about paperclips, he says, but how you network with individuals and touch their lives.

From The Coaches at Your Coaching Matters
Kate Vail
Donna Fleetwood
Ilona Matteson
Donna Stott
Mike Stott

5.8.12 Monday News you can USE

2012-05-09T10:53:00.001-04:00

“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.”
― H. Jackson Brown Jr., author: P.S. I Love You

Buy Now! Homes won't be getting more affordable

Inventory Down in Many Cities

Mortgage Rates at Record Lows

100 Markets Improving

Anybody noticing a trend here? Get your buyers to take action now! Call Expireds from a year ago - Knock on a FSBO's door - the market is changing. Are you working it to your advantage?

4.30.12 Monday News You can USE

2012-05-01T11:58:00.001-04:00

Had someone who told me today that FSBO's are a waste of time because she had been out to see three of them and none had listed... I was reminded of this great quote by Michael Jordan:

I've missed more than 9000 shots in my career. I've lost almost 300 games. 26 times, I've been trusted to take the game winning shot and missed. I've failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed.

When do you quit?

NEWS YOU CAN USE

Numbers of Contracts Increasing

Are buyers confident yet?

Homes Prices may be bottoming out

Opportunity - Homeownership rates down to lowest levels in 15 years

Canadians - beware the greed factor!

For your Buyers 4 ways to get a great deal on a mortgage

Mike Stott

http://www.YourCoachingMatters.com
678-232-0927
Mike.Stott@mac.com

Is the market shifting up?

2012-04-26T11:24:00.001-04:00

To be looking for now:
1. Is inventory decreasing (for similar time-period)
2. DOM decreasing
3. Multiple offer situations
4. Months of remaining inventory (looking for less than 5)