If they clearly understood the intent of my call, then yes, I do count it.

Makes sense...sometimes it's hard to figure out if they clearly understood the intent especially when you hear them struggle with the English language and they just keep saying "no, no, no" ...then you wonder if that was a reflex "no" or did they really understand the intent?... then you have to make a split second decision to either count it as a contact or not since you don't want to break your calling momentum... just an observation, no biggie.

I AM A BUSINESSMAN WHO HAPPENS TO SELL REAL ESTATE!

One way to evaluate your success is to calculate the value of your time. The secret is to maximize your dollar per hour worked and increase your production. (make more money with less time spent) You must know and understand the value of your time so that you can choose which activities to spend your time on. Anyone can make more money by trading more time for money. The secret is to trade less time for more income.

YOu must first know the value of your time today. What is your time worth per hour? Determine your gross commission for last year and divide by your total hours worked. The answer is your hourly rate. A more accurate figure is the NET figure. To get this number, subtract your business expenses from your gross income last year. Divide that figure by the total hours worked and this is your true value per hour worked. Do you have the courage to look at this number?

An agent with $400k gross income and 50% expenses is actually netting $200k and therefore earning approximately $80 per hour. To earn more per hour, this agent needs to either cut expenses or work smarter.

To know the value of your time in life, can create masterful lives. People who do not understand the value of their time live miserable lives because they don't understand the importance of time and end up wasting it on unproductive activities.

Time is like a bank account of money. Everyday, each of our accounts are credited with $86,000 with zero balance that can be carried over to the next day. At the end of each day our accounts are wiped out to zero regardless of how much we spent each day. Every morning our time account gets once again credited with 86,000 seconds and every evening it gets wiped out to zero regardless whether we invested the time wisely or not. The gain or loss is ours alone. Each day a new account opens for us and each night it is wiped out. No overdrafts! Each day a new deposit. If we fail to use the day's deposit the loss is ours. There is no going back. There is no drawing against tomorrow. We must live in the present on today;s deposit.

If we make the most of our time it is because we understand the value of our time; because we understand the value of each and every second therefore we will learn how to spend our time wisely.


RECOMMENDED BOOK; THE 4-HOUR WORKWEEK, by Timothy Ferris.

I have racked my brains on this one. Thanks Navarc. I do have unique high quality service with a superior track record compared to the competition however because we are in a temporary HOT market it just does not seem to matter. Short of increasing my expenses there is little more that I feel I can do.

Having said that, most of the competitiveness I am speaking of is in my losing leads to other agents much more than in the past even before I have an appointment. There are so many newbie agents coming from 1/2 an hour to 1 hour away, grabbing the listings and the sellers do not care because they know the home will sell in one week.

I have brainstormed this problem with many and the conclusion is that I must door knock the leads and introduce myself otherwise I am just another voice on the phone along with 20 others.

So far this year I have lost 26 leads converted to listings gone to other agents, almost all of whom I have never heard of before and from offices far from my marketplace.

I must implement a lead door knocking campaign very soon. The other thing I have noticed in previous years is that once the average agent gets a few listing and sales under their belts usually after the first 3-5 months of the year, they slack off and the competition lessens. This is when I usually strive.

I have prospected and worked smaller markets a short drive away where the average sale price was lower and the demand was less and never experienced this kind of dog eat dog environment.

Let the Door Knocking begin! LOL!

I apologize if you thought I was talking about your scripts. I didn't mean your scripts made me gag. You're right, how would I know what they are anyway!

I was referring to the ferry scripts. I sit in front of an agent who uses them word for word. Each time he reads them (and he does read them every time) he sounds like an actor at a bad audition. They sound very canned and I don't like them. I work from them, and use my own words, so that they sound more natural.

::Looking around:: Is Einstein posting here, too?!

Unfortunately, some agents just give them a higher number, or offer to take less commission. That is why it's so important to let them know what it is that sets YOU apart from the others, and why you are worth it! The worst is educating a seller about the market, in effect getting the price down for the next agent. If they are not listing TODAY, I don't tell them what I will list for, I just give them a range. Commission, too, I give them options but do not settle on a number. I've only lost 2 listings to another agent this year, both "bought" the listings.

I have lost about 25 leads to other agents. They are not appointments I have gone on, just leads I generated from my intense prospecting campaign over the past 90 days and followed up on as well but had not been able to convert to appointments. Had I been able to get the appointment then I would have a chance. Instead, the majority of them listed with some friend or acquaintance from another city 1/2 or more away. An agent who does't have my track record, doesn't have any buyers for the area, one who is not familiar with the area, on and on and on. The sellers donkt care who they list with or what I do differently because they know it will sell in a few days and with multiple offers many times.

Oh, I understand now. Don't rule out the chance that these people may KNOW the other agent, or they may be with a brokerage that has name recognition, and they called them instead.

You said you followed up and asked why they listed with the other agent. This is a big thread and i don't want to re read it, did you say what they told you?

Also, what did these leads consist of? You say you didn't get appointments. What did these leads consist of? Were they former expireds that you'd left a package or mailed to? Leads from the internet?

They are leads I generated from cold calling my town and followed up on to try and set a listing appointment on.

Since I am Einstein, I am putting on my thinking cap now.

Could be they knew the agent, or the agent was better at asking for the appointment. A friend may have referred the agent. Or they might have seen someone's signs around their house and called them. There are so many possibilities and so many agents out there. I know how tough it is to get the appointment, I go for expired listings all the time and there is a lot of competition out there.

Although I do doorknocking and calling, most of my listings come from my SOI and referrals. I've gotten a few from Facebook friends either listing with me or referring me. I would put more into your sphere and also going after expireds. Expireds have already used their friend for an agent, and hopefully they are motivated now to price it right and get it sold. I have marketed myself as an expired expert and have sold many homes that didn't sell with the previous agent. I have a very professional package I either hand to the homeowner or mail in the case of a second home. I 'borrowed' the design of my expired flyer from Borino, who posts here sometimes.

Know what I would do if I were you. . . .I'd print out those listings and watch for them to expire. . . then go after THEM! I know 6 months seems like a long time but in real estate time it flies.

As I posted recently....I am in a hot market. These listing are all selling. There are practically zero expireds. I worked expireds almost exclusively together with my SOI for over 10 years. I am also losing my SOI to the competition. We have approximately 30,000 licensed agents on my board and a shortage of listings...this is why we have multiples and fierce competition.

You need to go back to the drawing board Einstein...LOL....but thanks for the effort.

Oh well, I tried to help.

I haven't really read this whole thread, just the initial title : "I MAKE 100 COLD CALLS EVERY DAY & LOVE IT!"

That's just crazy talk! Seriously, either the OP is exaggerating or nuts! No offense. I'm a Mike Ferry One-on-One agent. I work with and friends with some of the top MFO agents around the country doing 100-200 deals. I don't know ONE who loves it! I guess in theory you can say you love it because you can make a lot of money, but the actual process is pretty boring.

the most "favorite" time in my day is not going to closings or even going on listing appointments, but setting them up on the phone. i take a total stranger who had a bad experience, find out if they have a re need that i can help htem with and schedule an appointment to help them with their problems. i don't make 100 contacts, but wish that i had the discipline to do so. time is what i run out of before i make 100 contacts. i have talked to lucky on the phone and have no reason to disbelieve any of the numbers that he has stated on this thread.

i love making my calls too and i love it because i realize that making my calls is the 1 and only activity in my day that furthers the increase of my income.