Hey Super,


We have a real character in our office, he is a 61 year old commercial/residential agent and
makes more money than 10 of the young agents in our office combined.
I see him out on the street everyday talking to store owners
driving his Super Charged Land Rover (100k), he says if you are not out there talking to people it's not going to happen.

When he has too many listings he gets very angry because he
cannot make any sales calls, he is tied up with the torture
of servicing his clients.

He claims talking to the kid who works at the hardware store is
more beneficial than talking to other agents.


Just sharing ideas, hopefully not off topic. I have mentioned
this guy before but you might have missed it.


Hunter.

Thanks, the questions simply come to me while I'm making the calls.

In past years, while calling, have you ever tried asking all of the MF questions (on the Just Listed or Just Sold script, for example) to see if you could dig out motivation more effectively , and therefore, increase your leads/contacts ratio?

I do use most of the questions but first they must indicate they are selling in the next month or two. I do not go thru a bunch of questions if they say they're not moving. I realized that on a street by street basis, many of the streets I call woul not see a for sale sign on them sometimes for years and my going thru the script wasn't going to change this fact and if they were moving in the near term, they always told me. I know this because I see what comes listed daily and sooner or later I would catch some listing after they told me no and this is not happening.

When I get a potential lead, a use most of tge MFO scripts plus many I created since the MFO scripts did not get me all the answers I need to determine if I wanted to take them as a lead or not.

Here are a few samples you could try;

"Do you want to buy first or sell first?"
"When are you planning on LISTING your home for sale? Which month?"
"Are going to sell this year or next year?".
""When do you plan on interviewing agents for the job of selling your home?"
"Most people interview two Top Agents to make sure they get the Best price and the right agent. Are you open to that?"
"Why do you want to wait until spring to list your home?"

HAPPY THANKSGIVING YO ALL MY FELLOW CANADIANS!

2011 HAS BEGUN.....

Most of what we do from now on will pay off next year in 2011.
I already have 3 deals closing in January and two of my sellers are buyers so if I sell the that will be 5 deals.
I usually carry 9-10 deals ($90-100k) into the following year. It would be great to double that this year (dream big)!
New Calendar years begin in October, therefore business plans need to be completed in October to have a good crack at the following year.
I actually started part of my plan in August where I doubled my prospecting time.
Few agents write a buisiness plan from year to year feeling they cannot predict the future. Ironically they are predicting the future....they will continue to earn the same, year after year until they challenge themselves and leave excuses behind and do something new and different.
This past year, I realized businesses go thru plateaus and one business plan per year was not enough so I committed to doing two plans per year where I would ADD 2 new systems and MEASURE the results, like any good business person would.

Lucky,

Okay, Okay, stop stressing us lazy people out and
making us feel guilty.

How many hours are both you and your assistant
putting into your business on a weekly basis?

What happened to you this spring was not in your
plan and was impossible to predict much like a farmer
cannot control a draught even if he prays everyday to
his chosen God. Another example would be a ocean crossing
in a small sail boat, plan for every contingency and off you go.
Everything is going well in your Jolly Boat until the
Somali Pirates show up and kidnap you, lock you in a mud
hut and feed you bird seed. Not part of the plan. Even Mad
Mike has no pull with these characters.


My mentors basic premis is that everyone knows an agent.
His response to this is to focus his prospecting and
marketing energy into ???? number of homes. By becoming the go to
guy for his sector he has a way better chance of bumping
the realtor they know out of the picture. You on the other
hand have spread your energies over 20000-30000 homes and
are more or less just a guy with a brilliant listing presentation
and some polished skills.

The downside to his plan invovles contacting the people you
miss in the daytime at night. So you have to call in the day
and evening to catch as many in one area as possible.

The upside to this punishing routine is you have way more
signs up in a smaller area and major recognition, then you
can change your name from Lucky Realtor to Smart Realtor.

Now this plan has not been endorsed by Mad Mike but it is highly
effective, kinda predictable and still involves prospecting which is okay with him.

You have made the leap into calling on Saturdays which is a great
beginning now just add two nights a week.


Off topic as always,


Hunter.

Duplicapable = no

Predictable = no

His production dropped in half as a result of REO Homes.



I work with an agent in my office who has over 5,000 homes in our city that he walks every 3 months and leaves a very simple notepad with his name and contact information. He does it every day, even in the rain, for 2 to 3 hours.

He has completed the circuit 40 times the last time I spoke with him about it.

At the peak of the market he closed over 50 transactions a year on his own with one part time assistant doing just that. He made over $500,000 a year in gross commissions for 3 years in a row.

His production has dropped in half since REO homes took over, because obviously he is not knocking on the banks door every day. But it has began to pick up again now that short sales are starting to move.

There are a few things that I think have made him successful.

One, he looks and behaves like Mr. Rogers. He is ver non-assuming and non-threatening.

Two, we have a considerable elderly population in our community that are usually hanging around the house during the day when he comes by and love to talk and give referrals.

Three, he has targeted homes in areas where there is minimal distance between doors, not rural areas.

And finally the fourth, final, and probably the most important reason, he is a machine and is very consistent. He brings the one attribute that will help anyone rise above the crowd in real estate, a work effort.


Bottom line, if you stick with it, almost anything works.

Not sure I fully understood your post but here goes.

I do not worry about the people that were not home, I am playing the numbers game. Worrying about the ones that are not home is more for a FARMER in a FARM area therefore they have to prospect evenings and saturdays to reach them PLUS they need to spend a good percentage of their gross in flyers, pumpkins etc.
I personally do not feel there is enough money left over at the end of the year to justify spending an additional 10-20% on farm/marketing unless of course my income were to double from where it is now. As you can tell I am experimenting with some marketing now.

Who's your Mentor?

You mentioned Marion Neal in the past, is she still inthe bus? You still in touch with here?

I work 45-50 hour weeks. My assistant puts in 20-25 hour weeks.

Okay I'm not looking to get in a fight over this topic.

I will use Katy Carter as an example, she has 3000 people
in her SOI and Past Client list. She claims staying in touch
with these people is 42% more effective than flat out cold
calling. She stays in contact with them each morning for
3 hours and mails to them a lot. My point is why not start
with 3000 people in the beginning and spend the same time
and money as her on these people. It took Katy many, many years to build up her client list to the 3000 mark and it was done with door knocking and cold calling.

Marion is still kicking, her methods put her into the top
100 of Remax during a deep recession with interests rates
around 10%, I have no doubt that her systems would'nt work
in today's market. I met her at the Granit Club, asked her
a bunch of questions and heard her speak about her work
routine. I know many agents who competed with her and a
friend renovated her home (he confirmed how she spends her day, plus
she works friggen hard). No, she is not my budy but I
have heard a huge amount, I grew up in her neck of the woods
and have friends in the area that she has approached and
pursued with her witchcraft.


RE/MAX AGENT MARIAN NEAL EARNS CIRCLE OF LEGENDS AWARD

RE/MAX has 104,101 Associates in 6,941 Offices In More Than 65 countries. There are 32 Recipients of the Circle Of Legends award. Marian Neal is one.


Many agents I know who started in the prospecting mode have moved on to other methods of getting business including tending
to their past clients.


My mentor sells more homes than you.


Mike's long term plan for you is to have you get all you business from a SOI
of a 1000 people if you are lucky, if you are unlucky it could be 2000 or more people. Tending to this flock of sheep is Friggen Farming. Your Russian friend
had a party every year for them, catering company trucks linning our street, ballons, like a friggen circus and big BUCKS was pored into that event EVERY YEAR. I see his assistant using a fork lift to unload all the envelopes when
he is doing a mail out to his past client/SOI, not cheap stuff.

If you stick with Mike you will land up farming, being a pumpkin guy, not that
there is anything wrong with that, why not just start that from day one and be
honest.

Don't forget to put an order in for 700 callenders, your flock of sheep are
expecting one from you, preferably hand delivered and no a post card wont cut
it, they know you make good dough.


These comment are not intended to antagonize.
See, smart me, got my bases covered.

I was in a Master Mind group about 20 years ago with Marion, Daryl king, Thomas Cook, Sandy Kenedy, Vlad Bregman, Bruce Keith, Steve Kristinovski, and several others. Mostly marketers today.

The prospectors I know personally make above average incomes but are off the radar screen.

Had a 4:30pm appointment yesterday, got there early and ran into a friend of mine who was out door knocking. His routine for the past 15 years is to start door knocking at 10am - He packs his own lunch and then continues to 5pm or 6pm depending on his energy. Most agents do not like this guy at all, not sure why. His averages have changed this year from 1500 doors per deal to 2000 or more (he is always a bit secretive). He is currently forced to use his line of credit and has made no tax instalments
for this year which is freaking him out because he work damn hard. He door knocks the same area repeatedly so follow up is handled at the same time, mostly.
He doesn't make budgets or plans, he just keeps puttting one foot
in front of the next and he said under normal circumstances when
you just put in solid time the deals come, aint happening for him
this year. We both prospect the same area so we have a weird relationship, if a car ran him over tomorrow not sure how I'd feel.

Oh, he was a marketer in the Beaches maybe 20 years ago and gave that up when the competition became fierce and went on doors.

The door knockers I know think the telephone guys are idiots and
visa versa. The telephone guys are all overweight not the case with the above guy and a lady friend of mine and myself, mentor
included..

My mother competed against Marion for 20 odd years chasing
expiries.


I saw Darrel King at our awards ceremony, he is one seriouly "Rolly Polly"
guy, to avoid a heart attack he needs to door knock in a major way and shed
about 50 pounds minimum, like you say you gotta have minimums. If he keeps
up his routine he will live a short life.


How come your brothers in arms abandoned the road less travelled?

Marion used to be out there rain or shine every morning, I have witnesses
galore from my old neighborhood. She was a crafty kitten and had her assistant
make cold calls while using her name, problem was she called a bunch
of agent who knew her voice, truth always surfaces at some point. One
of her assistance quite working for her and sued her, weird stuff.

Hard working super nice guy though... I've met him a few times myself and I have realtor friends who golf with him ... I heard he's on the phone a lot as well, not just relying on marketing.

Good to hear Darrell is doing his job. I'm sure you can be Supersized and Super nice at the same time, bet he is a great guy.

Years ago I got a Condom (one of those things guys put on their favorite toy when they are getting Lucky, just need to clarify things for the guys in India that are reading this, I dont think they have Condoms over there) from Luckys best friend Sandy Kennedy (Secret Society Member) and his letter said something like "I wont F.. your refferal" or "your clients are safe with me" could have been "I wont F.. you on your refferal fee"

Weird gift, the women in my office were looking at me in a funny way while I was playing with this device, personally I hate wearing Condoms and don't have good memories of them at all, I got rid of the multi coloured thing as quick as possible before someone called my manager and complained.



Re-set egg timer, READY SET GO...

Hey Hunter; tell your door knocking friend who hasn't paid his income tax installment to read and join this thread. He may learn something and I am sure we can learn from him as well.

As for farming... I am experimenting with some marketing as you know. Farming in my area must be massive (expensive) or commisiion based to work due to the low turnover. Most agents who generate business from marketing spend 10% (minimum) and more like 20% of their gross to generate such business. I find I save 10-15% of my gross with little to no marketing. ( I do live good though, kids in private school, university, 2 Mercedes, vacations, expensive tastes in shoes & clothes etc.). I could be wrong but if I generated the same business or a little more by spending 10-20% of my gross, well there would be nothing left over at end of the year. Agents don't like to talk about this (I have tried) but my savings and investing is important to me. Actually it's not enough and I need to double my current rate of savings and investing. This is what drives me.

Comments appreciated by everyone since it's such a taboo.