Real Clues

[RealClues] #389: What's Old is New (part 2)

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Table of Contents
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1. CoachingClues: The New-Old Real Estate Basics for 2010 (part 2 of 2)
2. Welcome Notes: 2009--A Challenging Year Filled with Transition
3. Reprise: Back to Basics: Prospecting Expired Listings
4. Create a Better Life: The Five Laws of Stratospheric Success
5. Audio Library: My Top Five Picks from 2009 from Listen and Learn Real Estate (185+ training sessions-big value, low cost)
*Five Secret Ways to Generate Leads from Facebook.
*How to Get Real Estate Leads from Twitter--Really! (41 in just 12 hours)
*How to Use LinkedIn to Build Your Referral Business.
*Twelve Ways to Put Your Business Back on the Road to Recovery.
*Five Lead Generation Strategies to Make Your Business Soar like Never Before.
6. New at LuxuryClues.com
*Searching for Great Green, Luxury, or Other Gift Ideas? Check These Out.
*A Heart Warming Story: A true account of the first "Make-a-Wish" Foundation Child.
7. Featured Products: Agents and Managers: How to Obtain Realistic List Prices
8. Increase Your Production with Personal Coaching
9. Give Us Your Feedback on this Newsletter
10. How to Subscribe/Unsubscribe

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1. CoachingClues: Eleven Old/New Real Estate Basics for 2010
(Part 1 of 2)
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Last week's column examined six basics you need to survive in 2010. Today's column examines five additional sets of looks at some of the most critical traditional sales skills that you need to thrive in any market.

7. Force appraisers to meet you at the property
Ten years ago, it was routine to meet the appraiser at the property. As the listing agent, you made sure the appraiser had all the recent comparable sales plus as much detail as possible about each of the comps. With the advent of the fax machine and email, agents got in the habit of sending their offers and other transaction related communications electronically. There was no need to meet the appraiser since he or she could access the property with the key safe or lockbox. With the recent changes in the appraisal law, many appraisers today are from outside the area. Others lack local knowledge. They have no idea about school districts or the other features that make one location more desirable than another. As a result, now it's now more important than ever to make sure the appraiser has the most current and detailed comparable sales data available. possible. Often times the appraiser can be from outside the area
and have no idea about school districts or other features that make one location more desirable than another.

Thus, when the property sells, remove the keysafe if at all possible. Granted that it's a hassle to sit around waiting and wait for an appraiser. It also takes effort to pull as much detail as possible together about the comparable sales. Nevertheless, that extra hour or two of effort can be the difference between your transactions closing versus having to start the marketing and/or search process all over again. If you're representing the buyer, offer to meet the appraiser if the listing agent is unwilling to do so. It's much easier to take these steps at the beginning and and have the appraisal come in at the sales price get the appraisal right rather than having to scramble if the appraisal comes in low.

8. Don't give up on print marketing
The real estate industry as a whole is still spending too much money on print marketing. Nevertheless, a highly targeted, well-designed print marketing campaign can yield great results. For example, you can target people who live in high-end rentals as potential first-time buyers. Send a series of postcards that highlight the benefits of homeownership. You could also ask, "Did you pay make your landlord's mortgage payment again this month?" Include a phone number or your website URL where they can find out how much they would qualify for if they were to purchase. You could also use the tried and true strategy of providing a list of "bargain" properties. Don't just limit the list to foreclosures, short sales, and REOs. Include the best of the traditional seller sales as well. To receive the list, the web visitors must provide their contact information.

9. Watch for buying signs
When there was no inventory, buyers had to make snap decisions about whether they would purchase or not. Today's buyers have the luxury of being able to take their time. When you're showing property to buyers, they may not always want you to know that they're interested in a specific property. If you know what to look for, however, their re are a number of body language signals will reveal that will let you spot which houses appeal to them most. To make this determination, remember to stay in back of the buyers as you show them property. This allows you to make sure that nothing disappears out of the property. It also has allows the additional benefit of letting you to observe their body language without having to maintain eye contact. Some of the classic signs that show a buyer is interested in the property include slowing down their pace as they walk through the property, looking at a feature two or more times, or touching a wall, or opening the cabinets.

10. Objections are buying signs
Many agents mistakenly believe that objections indicate a lack of buyer interest. What they don't realize is One of the most common negotiation mistakes that agents make is failing to recognize tthat when a buyer objects to a feature of a property, that's actually a buying sign. The classic error that agents make when buyers object is to give up and go on to the next property. For example, when the buyer says, "I hate this wallpaper," this statement at is a buying sign. The buyer would not object unless she was imagining living in the property. The way to handle this objection is to close with a question that uses an alternative choice close. This approach provides two or more alternatives and then asks the buyer, "Which one would you prefer?" To answer the objection about the wallpaper, you would ask, "Would you replace the wallpaper or paint?" No matter how the buyer responds, she will be picturing herself living in the property. Either way the buyer responds, the answer has her picturing herself as living in the property.

11. Always be closing
Whether you are working with sellers or buyers, it's important to always use closing questions. For example, if you are on a listing appointment, you could close the sellers on representing them on their purchase by asking, might ask the seller, "What have you enjoyed about living in this property? Will these same features be important in your next home as well?" If you're working with a buyer you could ask,
"If you had to buy a home today, which of the properties from today come closest to fitting your criteria?that you have seen today would best fit your criteria?"" A great close for buyers who are showing plenty of buying signs is,, "It looks as if this is the right house for you. Let's go back to the office and take care of the paperwork." This statement is not as scary as saying, "Let's go back to the office and write an offer."

You can market all you want on the web, but in the final analysis, it's the good old-fashioned sales skills that will either make or break your deals.

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2. Welcome Notes
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Welcome to our new subscribers this week. Each week RealClues provides you with great strategies to improve both your business and your life. If you find this issue of RealClues helpful, take a moment to hit the "forward" button and send it to another friend in the business.

Thanks to those of you who attended our webinar, "Smash Your Competition on Listing Appointments with 2010's Hottest Web Strategies." I am honored by all the positive feedback we have received, including the final comment this morning, "This was the best webinar I have ever attended." We will be doing the same topic again on December 16, 2009 at 1:00 p.m. (Eastern time). Look for the link and sign up information in next week's RealClues. Once again, there is no charge for this event.

2009 has been a year filled with challenges. I've been in the real estate business since 1978. Without a doubt, this is the roughest year I have seen. Nevertheless, I continue to hear from a wide variety of companies and associations that the market is doing better than anyone anticipated. Let's hope that holds true in 2010 and forward.

Have a great week!

Bernice Ross and Byron Van Arsdale, Chief Dough Makers
www.RealEstateCoach.com, www.RealEstateDough.com, www.LuxuryClues.com, www.RossdalePress.com, www.ConferenceCallTraining.com, and www.TeleconferenceLine.com

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3. Reprise: Back to Basics: Prospecting Expired Listings
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This article first ran in 2006--it's as relevant today as it was then. The approach outlined is one of the best ways to convert an expired listing into your listing.

http://budurl.com/3da6

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4. Create a Better Life: The Five Laws of Stratospheric Success
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Are you a go-getter? Success today is not necessarily a function of hard work alone; instead, it's a function of how much you give and provide value to others. Bob Burg and John David Mann's book the "Go-Giver" unlocks the secrets to creating stratospheric success. They were kind enough to let me share this important information in my book, Real Estate Dough(reg). This column was excerpted with their permission.

http://budurl.com/w42z

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5. Listen and Learn Real Estate: My Top Five Picks for 2009
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Are you still waiting to order Listen and Learn Real Estate? You can now get over 185 titles in this program for only $97.00.

I went through all 185 audio training sessions from our Listen and Learn Real Estate Program. Below are my top five picks. These five alone are worth the $97.00. In them, you will discover a complete social media marketing plan for your business. If you're having trouble figuring out how to get clients from your social networking efforts, we have the solution.

*Five Secret Ways to Generate Leads from Facebook.

*How to Get Real Estate Leads from Twitter--Really! (41 in just 12 hours)

*How to Use LinkedIn to Build Your Referral Business.

*Twelve Ways to Put Your Business Back on the Road to Recovery.

*Five Lead Generation Strategies to Make Your Business Soar like Never Before.

To order all 185+ training sessions for just $97.00:
http://budurl.com/hfgp

Best of all-we'll be adding to the library all year long. This is the best way to keep up with the latest strategies and tactics that will leave your competition in the dust.

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6. New at LuxuryClues.com
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*Making Wishes Come True
This is a true story that first appeared in Chicken Soup for the Soul. "Billy," who's real name was "Bospy Salazar" was the first child to have his wish granted from the "Make a Wish Foundation."
http://budurl.com/h2c4

*Searching for Great Green, Luxury, or Other Gift Ideas? Check These Out.
It's the holidays and time for gift giving. Keeping with tradition for this blog, here are some outrageous, over-the-top gifts, as well as some great ideas for those with a more limited budget.
http://budurl.com/g32a

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7. Featured Products: Would You Like a Million Bucks
worth of Dough in Your Wallet?
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We just got our shipment in of 1,000 Million Dollar Real Estate Dough Bills (I guess that makes me a billionaire in terms of Real Estate Dough!). There's a secret on page 218 of Real Estate Dough (www.RealEstateDough.com) that shows you how to use these very realistic million dollar bills to instantaneously build rapport with buyers while discovering what your buyers really do want in their next house--not just what they tell you. Our first 100 orders will get a $1 million worth of Real Estate Dough. Put the bill in your wallet--I carry three in mine. The amount of money you carry in your wallet is correlated with how much real cash you will make. Visit www.RealEstateDough.com to get your book, your game, and your Million bucks worth of Real Estate Dough now!

*Games have always been a fun part of our holiday season, especially when we get together with the family. My two nine-year old nieces both won "Real Estate Dough" the first time they played. Their strategy, "Comfy Condo was really cute" and "I really liked Flipper Fixer." The point is that Real Estate Dough Negotiation is a fun and exciting card game that is perfect for both adults and kids age 10+. It's the perfect gift for someone in the real estate business. It's also a way for you to share with your kids or grandkids what you do for a living. (If they really like the game, who knows, they may be future Realtors.) To see how the game is played, check out our flash power point at:

http://www.realestatecoach.com/download/How_to_Play.ppt

We also have play mats that you can download at no charge and customize with your name or your company's name. The game along with the downloadable play mats make a great custom gift for only $29.95 plus S&H. Don't wait, order today to make more dough tomorrow!

http://budurl.com/q9fr

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8. Increase Your Production with Personal Coaching
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Looking for a well-trained coach who knows the real estate business? Our coaching team can help you increase your production and make your dreams come true. Send an e-mail to Bernice@RealEstateCoach.com and we'll help find the right coach for you.

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9. Give Us Your Feedback On This Newsletter
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We want your feedback-to share your thoughts and suggestions, please e-mail us at Shane@RealEstateCoach.com.

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10. How to Subscribe/Unsubscribe
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Visit our Web site, http://www.RealEstateCoach.com to subscribe/unsubscribe to RealClues.

Copyright (c) 1996-2009, RealEstateCoach.com and Teleclass4U.com, LLC. All rights reserved. Permission is granted to reproduce, copy, or distribute RealClues as long as this copyright notice and full information about contacting the contributors to this newsletter is attached.

Contributors to this newsletter:
Bernice Ross, MCC, and Byron Van Arsdale, MCC, Owners, www.RealEstateCoach.com, www.LuxuryClues.com, www.ConferenceCallTraining.com; www.RossdalePress.com; and www.TeleconferenceLine.com
Shane Bowlin, REC General Manager

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