Agentjason 2.0

Is staying fit a part of your job description?

2009-10-01T19:59:05-05:00

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IMG_0001.mov (15413 KB)

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Bidding wars in a buyer's market

2009-10-01T16:35:35-05:00

Mr. Brueske says his own good credit history helped him win over two other bidders.

"It was unusual that in a down, depressed market that I had to bid more than the asking price, but as it turned out the other bids were higher than mine," he says. "It took me a while to swallow that."

via online.wsj.com

Being in a bidding war during a "buyer's market" sounds so backwards to buyers who face it that it can be very difficult for both buyer and agent to handle. Here you have a buyer who enters the market and begins work with you excited at the prospect of "snagging a deal". You sift through the inventory of thousands of foreclosure and short sale properties with your client and hope they aren't the type that want to see everything (always a joy for Realtors). Finally, they make an offer and find out that they are bidding against two other people. If they actually win the bid, they probably don't feel like they got a deal anymore, even if they still did, but either way that initial excitement is at risk of turning sour, making life difficult for you, the Realtor.

It's been a while since I've referenced third-party articles to help you overcome objections and hesitations in the field but when you're a graduate of Floyd Wickman's real estate training, you know that the appropriate use of them can go a long way towards showing a client that they certainly aren't alone and just maybe get them back on track and feeling better too! The paragraph highlighted above is perfect for that kind of use and in fact, the whole article is good so click through and give it a read. Then hit print or bookmark and use it when you find yourself in that situation.

"Companies" are not your "friends"

2009-09-25T16:32:52-05:00

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Here is the link to the Floyd Wickman Team Facebook page mentioned in the video

Technical Note: This is the first time I've used Posterous to send a video to this blog. Posterous is a blogging platform like TypePad but they are step ahead of TypePad incorporating video. I recorded the video from this post on my iPhone 3GS with the PicPosterous app, and it auto loaded to my Posterous blog, which sent it here in that little box above. TypePad hasn't released their inline video player just yet so you can either download the video I recorded or click through to Posterous and stream it from that page.

Twitter and Google Me biz cards explained

2009-09-25T14:47:12-05:00

A few posts ago, I showed you the two cards I carry in addition to my regular business card. Some people got it right away but some did not so I thought I'd explain a little more. In that post I was suggesting that because the GoogleMe/Twitter cards are different, they are way more likely to catch a persons attention than a standard card that everyone is expecting you to pull out. In addition, they both offer very simple ways to reach you.

The GoogleMe card says: You don't really need my regular card. Just Google me and you can then choose whatever way you want to communicate. The Twitter card says: Let's communicate via Twitter (and email if you must). Making your email address much smaller than your twitter name non-verbally communicates your preference but has your email in case the other person isn't on Twitter.

I had a little bit to try them out now and my GoogleMe card has been the default. It's the Moo.com mini-card product so it's even more different because it's way smaller than a normal card. In the case where I know someone is on Twitter, I'll just hand them the Twitter card. I can tell how tech savy someone is by their reaction when they take them. They either stare down at them in confusion (in which case I hand them the regular card) or they say "hey cool!" and my card just became a piece of unique marketing followed by "Where did you get these?"

Traditional cards are still great, but with social networking becoming more popular than email, (see this article, and this one) it's time to start expanding beyond the traditional.

Free Webinar: Recruiting Rescue with Floyd Wickman and Julie Escobar of ProspectsPLUS!

2009-09-21T15:36:05-05:00

via prospectsplus1.wordpress.com

If you look at your business card and it says broker/owner, office manager or team leader; or if you are an agent with one of the several companies for whom recruiting people into your downline is another way to earn, check this out. Floyd is doing an interview with industry friends ProspectsPLUS and he'll specifically be talking about recruiting. As always with Floyd's events, expect to learn a ton! Click through to the event and register yourself today! The event is October 6th at 12:30pm.

Dr. Dyer on scarcity and abundance

2009-09-05T11:23:48-05:00

Are you a highlighter when you read? Sometimes when I'm reading Wayne Dyer I find myself highlighting practically the whole page! My profession puts me in a position to remind salespeople to think from abundance, and the best way to do that is to just live the message myself. To that end, here's what I highlighted this morning:

"I'm sorry to tell you that there is no solution to the scarcity-focused thought process. Rather, you have to outgrow this kind of immature thinking by reminding yourself that it makes much more sense to assert that you're prosperous instead of focusing on 'I can't afford it'. This is not about helping you manifest more money, although that's certainly a possibility. It's about helping you eliminate the excuse of 'I can't afford it' from your life, because it keeps you aligned with lack, shortages, and pain."

--from Excuses Begone! by Dr. Wayne Dyer. Link to book on Amazon is in sidebar to your right.

Cool Biz Card Marketing: And I'll help you do it

2009-09-01T12:34:40-05:00

The last time you went to a convention or a networking group meeting, what did you do with all those cards you collected? You put them all in your database right? Yeah right; maybe if you have a database called trash can! Actually, it's my opinion (because I have no hard facts to point too) that most people pick and choose the few they will type into their phone or computer and the rest of the cards probably sit on a desk until the next cleaning and then are swept into the trash bin. So if you believe that too, then what can be done to make sure you're the one who stands out when the event is over? Here are two options for you.

I now carry three cards: my standard card and a Google Me and Twitter card.

Google Me:

If you type "Agentjason" in Google you get myriad of ways to connect with me, and in case someone is clueless about the internets, the back of the Google card has my celly (although purists would have a blank back side). Do you "own a term" on Google like that? What happens if you type in your name on Google? If you come up in the first few results you can get one like this too. They are very easy to create. Click here for the template!

Twitter Cards:

A few days ago I ordered my Twitter cards that mimic typing in a tweet to answer the question "What are you doing?" I had both of these printed at a cool little company called Moo.com. There is no template for the Twitter cards so if you've read this far here's your reward: Email me a pic of yourself and your twitter name and I'll send you back a file you can upload to Moo.com with a code for free shipping! And in case you know how to edit yourself (or just want the free shipping code) it's: N6HG9M

Happy networking!

Private voicemail you leave could soon be all over the web

2009-08-14T16:55:24-05:00

Remember when Alec Bladwin's unfortunate voice mail to his daughter made it to prime time? What a mess right? Can you imagine waking up one morning knowing your private voice mail message is all over the internet? My friend and fellow trainer Gary leaves me crazy messages all the time and I leave him crazy ones back. Nothing shameful, just goofy, yet probably embarrassing if they got out into the open. In fact, I've joked one day that I was saving them all in case I ever needed to blackmail him.

Getting a message off of a voice mail system has been just cumbersome enough that unless it's an A-Lister that someone could make money off of, no one has really ever bothered going to the trouble. But I predict that's all about to change thanks to Google. Google turned on my GoogleVoice account the other week and I've been playing with it a little. So far I haven't switched over to it fully and am just experimenting, but see that "Tip" at the top of this post - it was on my Voice dashboard today. So if someone calls and leaves me a voice mail and I'm using the Google system, I can now post that very easily wherever I wanted (just like I did below)!

Have you ever heard an agent in your office get a little emotional and leave a heated message? It usually happens when a person gets really frustrated with a co-op agent on a transaction. Uh oh. We've all hopefully learned that the web has a very long memory and that whatever is in an email or text message will eventually get out, apparently now the same could be true for your voice message. Who will be the first Realtor embarrassed by this? Time will tell I guess but it hopefully won't be any of my readers!

The danger of vague claims in real estate

2009-08-14T07:30:00-05:00

It's been a while since I've referenced a Seth Godin post but I spent some time last night catching up on his blog. I especially love it when he writes about our industry. If you've been a student of the Floyd Wickman Program circa 2004 forward, think about session 3. Remember when we taught you on a listing appointment to stop talking about yourself and how you and your firm are so great, that you're #1 in your market, that your website is #1 in traffic, etc, etc, etc? And remember when we tried to convince you instead to ask lots of questions and uncover what problems you are there to solve for the seller? I'm serious...take a few minutes and really ponder that message we sent you.

Here's why it's important: More and more people couldn't care less what number you happen to be in the marketplace. You know that city Business Journal that publishes the list of top Realtors and firms each year? Here is Austin's. Those lists are just a big ego boost for professionals and serve as a vehicle to help the publisher sell more advertising to the different businesses in that market. The public doesn't give a crap. They just want to be sold that you can help them and they want you to show them how you're going to do it. If no one is teaching you how to do just that for your clients, get a hold of me quick or at least someone who can.

Now click over and read Seth's post.

A real answer to "How's your business?"

2009-08-13T15:04:21-05:00

Today I had lunch at the incredible but always very crowded Whole Foods world headquarters here in Austin, and walking through the store I ran into a friend of mine in the mortgage business. (Remember when you were a kid and the prettiest girl or hottest guy in the school could make you stutter? Well, imagine that the person is really really nice and you bump into each other in the lunch room and he/she wants to talk and you sweat it out as you stutter your way thorough a conversation. A grown-up version of that is basically what just happened to me so it's a wonder I remember what was said at all!)

But I do remember what was said. I asked, "How's your business?", thinking if I stayed professional I'd hopefully not sound like an idiot! The answer he gave me was (paraphrased) "Not so good.". That response I thought was honest and amazing and a little endearing because it was not expected. Let's be honest, in real estate we have perfected the art of putting up a front. I know tons of Realtors who's business is in the toilet but if you were to ask them the same question, you'd get a "great!" or "fantastic!" for fear of...well, fear of a lot of things actually but they all come back to having a fear of what others think of you.

I'm a salesperson who also happens to be a motivational speaker/trainer and when it comes to controlling your thoughts - projecting and surrounding yourself with positive energy - fake it 'til you make it, trust me I get all of that. This was in fact a very positive conversation and also a very human one. Not everyone will blow the doors off in production all the time. And when things aren't going your way it's okay to signal you could use some help, in fact I walked out of there pondering ways I could help the guy.

It comes down to how you look at it. A slump in business is not in and of itself negative but maybe just an opportunity to learn a lesson, get better at a basic skill, reach out for help and strengthen a relationship - that all sounds like positive stuff to me. I'm not certain I didn't sound like an idiot just a little while ago, but what I know for sure is that if you look around your office, not everyone is doing as well as they'd like you to think so don't be fooled. What if we all were to drop the facade and just answer honestly? I for one appreciated the message today.

PS. Thankfully, business is actually good for me. But this year I'd like to continue training through the holiday season (usually I'm done by Thanksgiving), mainly because I've tacked on some extra goals for myself mid-stream, and so I'll have to stretch myself. With that in mind, who do you know who owns or manages a real estate company that would benefit from having a Floyd Wickman program in their life? Would you help me by making an introduction?