Whether you understand the complex algorithms of Search Engine organic placement or you don’t even know what Search Engine Optimization is, there are simple things you can do to improve your ranking on Internet Search Engines.  For the purpose of this article we are going to concentrate on the use of keywords.

I recently had a Client who was frustrated that they were not getting the traffic they wanted from their website.  The first thing I did was search for “Real Estate Orlando” (not actual city for anonymity).  Keep in mind he owns one of the largest Real Estate companies in his city.  Yet the company failed to rank within the first two pages of results in the search.  So we went on to evaluate his website.

Keywords

The first thing that jumped out at me was that the company’s Home Page had very little wording in fact “Real Estate” was only written once on the sidebar and “Orlando” and the markets he served were not anywhere on the page except. This means that the search engine spiders looking at this site are not going to consider his geographic location very relevant to the search terms.  When someone puts any variation of “Homes for Sale Orlando,”  “Orlando Property” etc, his site will not show up.

Spiders will start “viewing” your Home Page and work their way in through your site. If the Home Page does not have a strong relevance to the keywords people are searching then it will drastically hurt your ranking.

The point here, the advice to you is to be sure you are using the keywords on the home page of your website and every page where it is reasonable to do so; the keywords that are most likely to be searched by your audience, home buyers and sellers.  Those include the areas you serve, Real Estate, Homes, Townhomes, Condos, Commercial, the list is endless.  It includes all your specialties.  Do a search of Real Estate Tulsa Oklahoma or Homes for Sale and use your location and state.  Click on the top three organic sites that come up and notice the keywords they use.

Notice how often they are used and the prominence they have on the page; their use as headlines, in bold, etc.

Framing

Another thing I noticed was that Home Page of his company’s website was consumed by a Property Search function that was being framed from another source. Framing is basically fitting another website within the look of your site.

The problem is that framing carries no importance for Search Engine ranking.  So all that space used for this was doing literally nothing to help his Search Engine Optimization.

Simple Solutions

We spent several sessions discussing the steps to increase optimizing his placement.  We compiled relevant keywords and found places all over every page throughout the site to where they could be inserted.  We moved the framed property search to within the website.

Within three weeks he was ranking fairly high in the search engine when “Real Estate for Sale Orlando” was entered into the search engine. It didn’t cost him anything but his Admin’s time.

Fresh Eyes

Take a look at your website.

Truly look at it with fresh eyes.

Does your site immediately explain to visitors what you do and the benefit to them?  Are you using keywords throughout your site to explain each product or service?  Are those keywords prominently placed in headlines and bold print?  Are you limiting graphics, framing and pictures that don’t help your SEO especially on your Home Page?  Are you thinking like your prospective clients to use keywords that THEY would use and not just writing casually and carelessly?

Remember that Search Engines give more importance to words that are placed higher on the page or are a larger font or bolded.  Repeat important keywords as often as possible without sounding silly or redundant. Re-phrase features and benefits so that you both reinforce them and you repeat keywords in ways that read naturally.

Create section titles using keywords. Be sure to have the title of your company, product, service or name in text not just a logo or image. Be sure to have the city and state in text somewhere on your home page.  Most of these changes can be done with little research, little time and no expense.

Rich Levin is a coach and speaker whose focus is teaching Agents to understand and control their business.  And through that understanding achieve exceptional happiness and wealth in their life.  Rich is President of Rich Levin’s Success Corps Inc.  Contact Rich at 585-244-2700.

Rhonda Childress is an Agent. She was frustrated that a Seller relisted with another Agent after she had worked on it conscientiously for six months. When I spoke to her, she said, “Rich, I just couldn’t get the Sellers to agree to my price.  Then they go and list with another Agent at my price and it sells in a week.”

I said, “Rhonda, the problem is you don’t have a price. You have a price recommendation. Only the Seller has a price.” With some Sellers when your price recommendation disagrees with their expectation they get edgy.  When you start talking about “your price” the Seller takes it as a competition over whose price is right. That makes your job a lot harder. Instead, you want to create a cooperative not a competitive relationship with your Client.

Consider the following language.

“Mr. and Ms. Seller, my main job is to market your property, to attract qualified Buyers and Agents that have qualified Buyers who will pay you the highest possible price.

Regarding the price, my job is to research all the possible information that affects your price, analyze that information, show it to you and make the best possible pricing recommendation. Then you can choose to take my recommendation or choose a different price. The price is always in your hands not mine. So, I’ll recommend a price based on the facts. At the same time it is up to you to set the initial asking price.  It is your decision to adjust the price should that be necessary. I’ll advise you, give you the best information and recommendation possible. The decision on pricing is always completely yours.  Does that make sense?

Whether you choose to put the house on the market at the price the market indicates or you choose something higher or lower I will put my entire marketing effort to work and as I said, no one will work harder, smarter or get you more money “

This is simply acknowledging the truth. The Seller has complete control over the price. When you put that responsibility where it belongs, in the Seller’s hands, you have much more control. Yes this can be counter intuitive; it may seem that you are giving up control. As you utilize this approach you will realize the effectiveness.

One note, this approach must accompany a clear and strong plan for marketing the property to get the highest possible price.

Your Value and Pricing Message to the Seller

You always choose the price

You decide whether or not to take an offered price

You decide whether, when, and how much to change or adjust the price

My job is to recommend, do extensive research and apply expertise to determine a price that a qualified Buyer is likely to pay in the current market

My job is to use my tools and skills to market the property and get qualified buyers in the house

My job is to represent you and to negotiate the highest price and best terms for you

My job is to represent you through the myriad of other negotiations and difficulties and ensure that all the parties do their jobs to get the sale closed.

Your Pricing Message to the Seller… Another Version

You say to the seller, “As we talk about price I want you to understand my job when it comes to pricing.

My main job, the thing you really hire me for is to market your house, attract buyers to your house, then to help you negotiate the best price.

Regarding pricing, my job is to research all the possible information that affects your price, analyze that information, show it to you and make the best possible pricing recommendation to you. Then you can choose to take my recommendation or choose a different price.

Bottom line you choose the price, not me. I believe you want me to advise you on price and make a recommendation don’t you? Or have you already made up your mind as to the price you want to ask?

So, I’ll recommend a price based on the facts. At the same time it is up to you to set the initial asking price. The decision on it is completely yours. Does that make sense?

Now whatever price you choose, I am completely confident. There is no question in my mind that between my efforts, the tools, experience and knowledge I bring, along with the support of my company we can get you the highest possible price. We can get you a higher price than any other Real Estate Agent in town.

Whether that highest price is $2,000,000, $2,500,000 or $3,000,000 (Choose prices below at and way above the market value.) we’ll find out when a buyer makes an offer. My job is to get that offer and help you negotiate it to the highest possible number.  And, in fact that is what I do best.

The initial asking price is entirely up to you.

In fact, whether you choose to put the house on the market at the price the market indicates or you choose something higher or lower, if we choose to work together, I will put my entire marketing effort to work and as I said, no one will work harder, smarter or get you more money.

Whether you use this specific language or any parts of it, you want to be sure to clearly communicate your recommendation on price.  Be sure to make a note of that recommendation on paper in front of them so that later, if the house does not sell, you can make reference to it.  No matter how they react they will hear your recommendation and if they choose a higher price you can still proceed, if you choose.  Your clear recommendation will serve you well for cooperation with later price reductions.

Rich Levin is a Master Coach and Real Estate Productivity Expert whose focus is teaching Agents to control and grow their measurable results as they achieve personal fulfillment. Take control of your business.  Register for your personal 2010 Strategy Session with Rich.   Also, Rich conducts free, live, daily 15 minute webinars that starts your day with focus and energy. Register at  1st Fifteen Webinars. Rich is President of Rich Levin’s Success Corps Inc.  Contact him at 585-244-2700 or rich@richlevin.com.

Most Agents have little or no specific training in negotiating yet it is a major component to an Agent’s success. Negotiating is a skill like any other that is awkward at first and improves with practice. Some of these rules will take some time to implement effectively. Others you will be able to apply immediately. (Some of these rules refer to the situation where you are presenting and negotiation directly versus through the other Agent.)

Rule #1: Do not go back and forth between the Buyer and Seller more than twice or you make them crazy. At and after the third round your chance of making the sale drops dramatically. In the first round the buyer and seller are thinking about buying and selling the home. In the second round the buyer and seller stop thinking about buying and selling the home and start thinking about the money. At and after the third round they begin to resent each other. Both Buyer and Seller lose site of the home and money. They begin to make it personal and focus on the other party. Your buyers and sellers are not experienced negotiators. In fact most have only experienced the often negative negotiations when buying cars. So, they are predisposed to fear and discomfort in a negotiation. Others get caught up in the fight and just want to win no matter the cost or loss. Either way these predispositions make it a lot harder for you. And you can avoid it if you shorten the negotiation.

Rule #2: Don’t let the buyers and sellers come to dislike each other. You take responsibility for what you convey to all parties. The most frequent reason buyers and sellers come to dislike each other is because the Agent talks about one party to the other. So if you hear your client or yourself beginning to disparage the other client intercede and suggest that whatever the reasons for the Client’s behavior might be, let’s focus on putting together the sale and getting the move complete.

Rule #3: Stay focused on the goal of completing the sale. Never let interruptions, the other party’s emotions, emotional outburst, personality, position or anything else distract you from the issues and the concessions that lead to completing the sale. Stay calm. Listen. Empathize. Do not get involved in conversations about the party’s personalities. Do not get emotionally hooked by the emotions of the client. Be a professional. Whether your clients know it or not, they want and need that kind of focused objectivity from you.

Rule #4: People believe what is in writing. So, support your position in writing. If a comparative market analysis supports your position, prepare it. If certain comparables support your position, provide them. If a report supports your position, copy that portion and use it. And most of all put your offer in writing. Don’t negotiate verbally. I realize that it can work many times. I realize that some Agents will insist on it and there is little you can do at those times. Please for your sake and for your Client’s sake make those times rare. Verbal negotiations are fraught with potential problems, misunderstandings, misinterpretations, omissions, as well as simple changing of minds. Put every step of the negotiation in writing.

Rule #5: When you give a concession, ask for something in return. You may not get anything in return but asking dampens the motivation to ask for more. The seller wants another three thousand dollars in price and the buyer says if I accept that I want the kitchen appliances. The seller says ok and so the buyer says we have been thinking about it and we want the washer and dryer too. The seller says ok. So the buyer then asks for….You get the idea. If the seller says no the first time, even if they ultimately end up giving up the kitchen appliances to make the deal, asking for something in return dampens the buyer’s motivation to ask for more. Then at the structural inspection or at the pre-closing inspection the earlier dampening of the buyer’s motivation carries forward and dampens the buyer’s motivation to ask for too much later.

Rule #6: Never take the first offer too quickly or easily. It sends a message that may make your job more difficult later. When you have an offer accepted quickly wait a few hours to call the Buyer. Then don’t emphasize that it was easy. On this same topic, don’t tell the buyer they have bought the house or the seller they have sold the house just because they have an accepted offer…. because they haven’t. The house isn’t sold until there are attorney’s approvals, approved inspections, a mortgage commitment and all other contingencies are removed.  Instead of saying congratulations you got it. Say, “Congratulations you are on your way. We want to get the attorney’s blessing, get through the structural inspection and get through the bank process. I don’t expect any problems so I think you have a great home.”

Rule #7: Never gloat. I remember walking into a seller’s house with a full price offer, all cash, and only attorney’s approval as a contingency. It had the closing date the seller wanted, no personal property. I was proud and pleased. This one was going to be easy. So I strutted in with swagger and a smile. I said, “You guys are gonna love this offer.” Well, as you might expect. They questioned me and challenged me about everything from the legitimacy of my buyer to where their cash was coming from, all because I didn’t have the good sense and sensitivity to realize these people are moving their lives. I treated it like a game and they quickly reminded me of its importance to them. The next time I had the situation. I talked about how hard I worked to get them as much of what they wanted as I could. I couldn’t get it all but I hoped we were close enough to come to an agreement. They looked at the great offer and said, “Rich, you did great. We can accept this as it is.”  Lesson learned.

Rule #8: When you hit an impasse settle everything else first and return to it. As you present the offer to the seller and you reach an item they don’t accept, make a note to come back to it and get agreement on everything else first. Then, once you are through the offer completely, you will have isolated all the items, if there is more than one that requires negotiation. You will find that at that point the negotiation goes easier. There is nothing else on their mind and they know that this item or these items will complete the transaction. By doing this you create a momentum that carries you to success more easily.

Rule #9: Get the other party to negotiate with themselves. Never negotiate with yourself. This is a more aggressive rule. Above, in Rule # 4 I said to always get your negotiations in writing.  This is the exception that proves the rule. Watch. I am sitting with the seller reviewing a Buyer’s Agent’s offer. The seller is willing to accept it and doesn’t want to lose the buyer or the sale. I say to them, “Let’s see what I can do without risking the sale.”  I call the other Agent (Agent is another one we capitalize) and ask if the Agent can reach their buyer. They say yes.  I tell them that the sellers are in the room and they are really close to accepting the offer. If we could get another $1,500 it’s a done deal.  Could they check with the buyers and see if they would move at all?  And if they will, I want to get it wrapped up tonight while everyone is in agreement. Ten minutes later the Agent calls to tell me they’ll do it or they’ll do $500 or $1,000 or nothing. A vast majority of the time I’ll get more and make the seller very happy with me.  If the Buyers won’t move I call the Buyer’s Agent back in five minutes and to tell them that their offer was accepted as is and compliment them on their smart negotiation. You may or may not approve of this methodology. I am not condoning or condemning it. I am just using it as an example of, “Get the other party to negotiate with themselves. Never negotiate with yourself.

Rule #10: Do not use these rules and approaches carelessly. When these rules are applied or are done awkwardly or carelessly they cause your clients to distrust you.  Be careful. Done with care and confidence (and practice) you are going to have a lot more fun, be a lot more productive, preserve more time, and get the admiration and referrals from your clients because you will make them more comfortable in addition to getting them more money with your negotiating skills.

Rich specialize in moving Real Estate Agents and Brokers to their highest levels of production and performance in their business and in their life. Join our FREE Daily Real Estate Training Webinars every week day at www.1stFifteen.com. Contact Rich directly Rich@RichLevin.com or call 585.244.2700 or visit www.RichLevin.com. Rich Levin is President of Rich Levin’s Success Corps inc.

It’s a strange thing, but when you are dreading something, and would give anything to slow down time, it has a disobliging habit of speeding up.  ~J.K. Rowling, “The Hungarian Horntail,” Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, 2000

Does this ring true for you? Real Estate Agents are challenged in dealing with time.  Prospecting, Marketing, Service, E-mails, Phone Calls, Appointments, Paperwork, the list go on and on.  Here are top tips to help you manage your time better.

Schedule chunks instead of activities. Schedule a chunk of time each day to make and return calls, a chunk of time one day a week to do all of your web update work.
Chunk your service, your ad writing, and your marketing.  Here is the rule.  If you spend a total of more than thirty minutes per week on an activity, schedule a chunk of time on specific days every week for that activity.

Priority Days. For one hour at the beginning of each day focus on the following priorities.  In our Daily Coaching Program Mondays and Tuesdays are prospecting days.  Wednesdays are marketing, web, print, mail etc.  Thursdays are for service to listed Sellers and pending Clients.  Fridays are for planning, what we call a leadership day.  This structure manages your time, organizes your activities and leverages the opportunity to take big chunks of time or full days off on the weekend with more peace of mind and confidence.

Emotional Fitness. We all have a pre-work dance.  That is, activities that we love to do right before we are going to get to work.  Get coffee.  Check e-mails, Twitter, Active Rain, etc.  Play solitaire.  Clear your desk.  So, become conscious of your pre-work dance and work to break the cycle of unproductive time.  Just as you are about to “dance,” pause.   Sit up straight or stand up.  Smile, even laugh at yourself because you know what you would normally do.  But this time, picture how your day is going to go.  Picture what you want to accomplish and how you are going to accomplish it immediately.  And get back into action.  No one thing can make you more productive than interrupting your pre-work dance and getting back into action more quickly.

Prioritize your activities and phone calls.  Always, do the toughest ones first.  Do the one thing that you have been procrastinating over, first.  That thing often holds you back, slows you down, damages your motivation, your focus, even your confidence.  Make the tough phone calls first.  Tackle the tough job first.  They are often not as tough as anticipated.  But they get tougher as you delay them, don’t they?

Action motivates. If you’re feeling a little bit lazy but you know you have things to accomplish, action motivates.  Get yourself off the couch, off the chair, take the first step, make the first call, respond to that tough e-mail, or get in the car.  Take the first action.  Action motivates.

Use the 4 D method for prioritizing paperwork.

Do it immediately if it can be done in 20 seconds or less.

Delegate it if you can hand it off to somebody else.

Delay it if you are not going to do it right now.  Schedule a time in your calendar to get back to it.  It may be delayed to one of the time chunks mentioned above.

Dump it.  It is best to do this one more than the others.

Cluster your activities.  Cluster all the things needed to be done at your office.  Cluster your travel.  Take a few minutes, literally, just 2 or 3 minutes at the beginning of the day and before you walk out the door to look at your calendar.  Perhaps you will have to make a phone call or two to rearrange your schedule.  Maybe you will ask someone else to be available sooner or later.  Do that.  So that your use of time makes more sense.  As you commit to this it becomes habitual.  In addition to saving a tremendous amount of time clustering your activities can relieve a lot of pressure, provide a wonderful sense of self-control, and give you the freedom and the opportunity for greater success.

Just say no. Oooh, this one is very hard for some people.  If it is hard for you then simply learn to apologize profusely… and then say no.  Try these scripts.  “Wow, I really want to do that for you.  And I really would.  Only it is killing me to put other people’s requests above my priorities.  So, I am really, really sorry… but, no.”

Schedule time off. Give yourself permission to do nothing or do something you love to do.  Even just sit in front of the TV.  Read a book.  Lay in the sun.  Go for a walk.  Exercise.  Spend time with family.  Sleep in late.  Give yourself permission to do nothing.  You need that time.  You need that energy.  Giving yourself this permission sends a strong message to your subconscious that you are in control of your time.  This adds power to all of the other ideas above.  Cross off one day each week, a half day, an evening, when you schedule absolutely nothing or something you love to do and make that personal time a must, an absolute priority.  If necessary, arrange to have someone handle calls for you or check your emails. This time will truly make you more effective when you are working.

There are tons of systems, tools, and philosophies for managing time.  These are the foundation, a few of the best ideas for addressing an Agent’s biggest complaint.

A business plan is crucial for building an efficient, profitable business strategy. But by avoiding common pitfalls, you’ll be able to set your business on the right path in the coming year.

Let’s be honest: Sometimes no matter how hard you plan, you just don’t get the results you want.

A business plan can help you set a strategy for the year and outline the goals you want to achieve. But how often do so many business plans become merely a list of your unaccomplished objectives?

It often boils down to three main reasons: unnecessary complexity, lack of focus, and little to no motivation.

Realizing this, you can make adjustments in these three areas to avoid such common mistakes and formulate an intelligent business plan that gets you results.

Problem 1: Is your business plan too complex? Most business plans designed for real estate professionals have too many moving parts. After all, most practitioners do not come from business backgrounds and have no training in even writing a business plan. Therefore, a common problem is to error on the side of providing way too much detail. But the more complex and detailed it is, the less likely you will be able see through all of the gobbledygook to realize your main objectives.

Solution: Keep it simple and in easy terms. Don’t reduce the goals in your plan to mere activities. There are too many possible activities to choose from! It’s too cumbersome to track each task, and there are too many to focus on at one time. Out of frustration or confusion, you’ll simply stop the planning process or stop using the plan. Make sure your business plan includes only what you need to manage your business.

Problem 2: Are you focused enough? It’s easy to lack focus if you have so many details in your business plan that they’re competing for your attention. A change to a simple, single focus allows you to be more creative and work smarter. In addition, a more concentrated approach significantly reduces stress on and off the job.

Solution: To improve your focus, reduce your measurable goals in your business plan to initial appointments with new clients, and stop there. Do not discriminate between listing and buyer appointments. Count them both.

Why just target initial appointments? After using this model with thousands of real estate professionals all over the country for more than a decade, I’ve found an accurate rule of thumb: Modestly competent professionals with at least one year of experience will execute a successful transaction with at least half of the new clients with whom they have an initial appointment. That means every two initial appointments lead to a sale, roughly. Forty new appointments for the year lead to 20 sales.

Here are some other benefits:

• As you make initial appointments each week, you’ll naturally focus on the best ways to generate the appointments and your skill at turning those into sales.

• The initial appointments are a measure that makes it easy to identify which skills or systems are your greatest weaknesses or strengths.

• You’ll make better decisions about what to do, what to buy, and what to learn next. This will save you time, money, and frustration, and give you more confidence as you go forward.

Problem 3: Are You Motivated Enough to Achieve These Goals? Your purpose is your reason for doing anything. “Why” you do something drives you to action. If you haven’t identified the “why,” then your business plan will likely fall flat.

Solution: Consider your business goals and your purpose behind those goals. This will create a deep and lasting motivation and prevent you from feeling powerless and mediocre.

Before you set your measurable goals, do the following:

• Write down at least five answers to the question, “What do I want my business to do for my life? What do I want my business to accomplish for me and my loved ones?”

• Then, ask yourself, “Why do I want that?” And keep writing those answers down and continually asking, “And why do I want that?”

• Continue to ask yourself these questions until you have an emotional response to your answer and arrive at an answer that excites you. Sometimes this excitement occurs immediately; sometimes you have to live with that question on your mind for a few days to let your subconscious work on it.

Eventually, you’ll have an answer that makes you say to yourself: “That’s why I am willing to do whatever it takes.” This adds tremendous power and purpose to your efforts, goals, overall plan, and everyday work.

Measure Your Results. These three easy changes are necessary to successful planning. But, don’t forget: You have to hold yourself accountable too.

Every working weekday, before you open your e-mail or make a phone call, take about five minutes to think about the results you’re getting. Use this time to think about your “what” and “why.” Update your appointments, sales, and listings.

Then, once a week, instead of five minutes, schedule a half hour to consider these issues. After you update your results, ask: “What can I do for my business this upcoming week that would make it even more successful, even more enjoyable, and even more profitable?”

Such constant reflection will help you stay focused and motivated and ensure that your next business plan isn’t just a wish list but that it soon becomes a list of what you’ve actually achieved.

For more information on raising your production and quality of life register for a FREE Business Strategy Rich specialize in moving Real Estate Agents and Brokers to their highest levels of production and performance in their business and in their life. Free daily coaching at www.1stfifteen.com that will  inspire and motivate you every day! Contact Rich directly at mailto:Rich@RichLevin.com or call 585.244.2700 Rich Levin is President of Rich Levin’s Success Corps inc.

This makes me mad every time I see it. Either the National Association of Business Economists is full of people with no real business experience or fools. This is a headline from a major online Real Estate publication, “Economists See Credit Problems as Bigger Threat than Terrorism.”

I know they were all alive just seven years ago when terrorism cost the lives of three thousand American citizens. That headline goes beyond sensationalism. It is rude and insensitive.

The article goes on to say that one in three members of the NABE, “…Said the housing boom can be described as a ‘serious National bubble.’ Then later in the article three in four said they would “buy a house today if they intended to use it as their primary residence.”

Would someone please tell these academic fools that housing is local in nature? While many major markets suffered and are suffering from the overzealousness of investors followed by the overzealousness of foolish subprime lenders, there are many markets that are healthy and many more that are suffering a softening but nothing close to a collapse.

These gloom and doom headlines supported by a minority of questionable economist opinions feed the problem they are describing. While the facts support the opposite conclusion. Even the economists own research supports the opposite conclusion.

In the same article, “Asked to look five years into the future, 42 percent expected US home prices to remain flat, 41 percent said prices would rise.” Then how did 34 percent of the same group call this a bubble that is fed by a threat bigger than terrorism.

Let’s give credit where it is due. “59 percent still say there is no national housing bubble, only significant local bubbles. Another 8 percent say there’s no bubble at all and that the market is functioning correctly.”

Hooray for those groups. They got it right. There are some local bubbles where there were hundreds and thousands of development parcels and homes developed and built in anticipation of future sales and the sales that were feeding that demand was investor speculation (Boise and Sarasota to name two).

In late 2005 and through 2006 the investors realized that the boom was being fed by their own demand so withdrew. This left tremendous inventory in some cities or areas of cities.

Unfortunately, in 2006 this was immediately followed by the secondary market lenders realizing that they had allowed a foolish combination of underwriting standards for the previous five years or so. They were buying loans that allowed buyers to have both, little or no down payment and marginal credit. How this happened (and who should be prosecuted for it) is a mystery that will likely remain unsolved.

The result was in some communities around the country, particularly where there were high priced homes and with less sophisticated buyers; many of these mortgages were used to purchase homes. That created additional pockets of excess inventory which stalled prices in those areas.

Now the majority of lenders loaning jumbo loans, over 417,000 have stopped funding these high-end loans for some period of time. This will further increase inventory and dampen prices in some areas.

Notice the language, dampen prices in some areas. Most of the country is experiencing a normal buyer’s market that normally follows a long healthy seller’s market.

The latter group of economists put it perfectly. The market is functioning correctly. In 1986 after two to three years of a soft buyer’s market not unlike what we are experiencing now (although it was driven by different causes) there was a long strong period of a healthy seller’s market with steady appreciation.

There was a momentary softer buyer’s market around the Gulf War in 1991 (although not caused by it) followed by over a decade of a healthy buyers market that lasted until 2006. If we learn from history strong seller’s markets last longer than softer buyer’s markets.

So again the economists got this right. The same article said 58% of the economists predicted a ‘meaningful’ recovery in U.S. housing markets before the second half of 2008 or in the second half of 2008. The majority of the other 42% predicted the recovery in 2009.

This is completely consistent with history. This two or three years of soft buyer’s market with slightly flattening prices will likely be followed by five or more years of a healthy seller’s market with equally healthy price appreciation.

REALTORs® all learned in their first Real Estate class that the market is driven by supply and demand. So as long as there is an increasing population of people with reasonable or better incomes, the demand will keep the market healthy.

Add to that the fact that the Federal government repeatedly states that they realize that the Real Estate market is critical to the health of the economy and they will do whatever is necessary to keep mortgage money available.

It all adds up to a principal residence continuing to be the safest and smartest investment for a person living in this fabulous nation. (Just be careful of areas that have experienced rapid appreciation for more than twenty-four months. There could be a windfall or just a fall looming.)

If you are associated with Real Estate, please separate the sensationalism from the truth. If you are in most communities in this country everything, is pretty normal. Prices are appreciating a little slower but still appreciating. Houses are on the market longer. Buyers are fussier. Yes, it is tougher to sell Real Estate. But you still have one of the best jobs in the world with more personal freedom and opportunity for success than any other business person or professional on earth.

If you are in one of those tougher markets, my heart is with you. You do have an uphill battle for another twelve to twenty four months. You have my strongest wish that you can survive and succeed through this. If not, come back to the business in a couple of years. I feel comfortable promising you that the good times will roll again in the not too distant future.

I love this business for what it provides to our society, the people in it, and the strong bright professionals that make me proud to be a part of it.

Rich Levin is a nationally known coach, educator and speaker. Rich has been in the Real Estate Business for over 30 years with the last 15 dedicated to coaching and speaking. His specialty is working with productive Real Estate Agents and Brokers taking them to their highest levels of production and performance in their business and in their lives. He is a regular contributor to various Real Estate publications and has spoken at events from small offices to NAR convention as well as coaching top Agents from across the country. He is CPBA and e-PRO certified.

Contact him at 585-244-2700 or visit http://www.RichLevin.com. Ask Rich a question at http://www.AskCoachRichLevin.com

In tough economic times, it is a natural for a Real Estate Agent’s attitude to waver. This market leads to confusion and lost focus. Should you make more calls, do more marketing, hold open houses, finally get to that project? What if none of those things work? Should you stay in the business? Can you afford to? These thoughts and the feelings they generate are a far more serious issue than the market and the problems that arise from the market.

You create what you focus on. Your focus creates your life. There are always opportunities in Real Estate. The Agents who looks for the opportunities find them, explore them and find ways to win. The Agents that look at the problems find those explore them and only see ways that limit their opportunities.

Focus creates feelings. The quality of our life is dictated by what we feel at any given moment. Focus creates your attitude. Do you control what you focus on and what you think about? Or do you allow outside influences, circumstances, and others reactions to dictate your focus which means that you, unnecessarily, give up control over your attitude and emotional state allowing outside influences to control the quality of your life?

Your Focus is the Key

Think about this. If a hostage is blindfolded, gagged and bound, in silence, what do they have left? All they have left are their thoughts and feelings. Through that experience, those thoughts and feelings completely dictate their quality of life. And how they manage those thoughts and feelings through that experience will largely dictate the quality of their life after it.

What you think about, you bring about. By managing what you think about, what you focus on you have power over your thoughts and their feelings.

This is true every day and every moment of your life. How you manage your focus will dictate your attitude. You can focus on things that make you strong and clear or focus on things that will diminish your quality of life.

Louise L. Hay, Author of “You Can Heal Your Life” says, “What we think about ourselves becomes the truth for us. Put another way, our subconscious mind accepts whatever we choose to believe. Then it reflects our beliefs in our lives. Many of us have foolish ideas about who we are. When we are very little, we learn how to feel about ourselves and about life by the reactions of the adults around us. When we grow up we have a tendency to re-recreate the emotional environment of our early home life.”

Our subconscious mind accepts whatever we choose to believe. You manage your attitude and your life by choosing the thoughts you focus on and hold in your mind. Choose empowering thoughts and you control the life you live. Allow disempowering thoughts and you lose control.

Focus Leads to Feelings

Focus leads to feelings. Control the focus and the feeling follows. You hear good news; good thoughts and good feelings follow. You hear bad news and bad feelings follow. Feelings follow focus, so control what you focus on and you control your feelings.

Focus, Meaning, and Physiology

Anthony Robbins, the famous motivator refers to this as your “state,” your emotional state of being. He teaches millions of people all over the world to control their state by controlling “what you focus on and the meaning you give it.” He adds a very important dimension to this. He adds physiology, which is what you do with your body.

Robbins says, “The source of all emotion is a pattern of physiology, how you use your physical body, focus, whatever you focus on, and meaning, words we put to an experience. Change any of these, physiology, focus or meaning and your (emotional) state changes.”

Most people do not make an effort to control their emotional state. Most people live with emotional states that disturb them. And they make no effort to change it, perhaps because they do not know that it is possible to change from sadness, frustration, fatigue and other negative emotional states to positive ones by changing focus, meaning and physiology.

The Secret

A popular DVD/book called “The Secret” focuses on the Law of Attraction. The narrator says, “By the images we hold in our mind we get and become what we think about most. What we think about we bring about.”

That is exactly what controls our attitude. What we think about (focus on) dictates the attitude we bring about.

It’s important to acknowledge that we cannot control the thoughts that pop into our minds. However, we can control whether we hold onto a thought, let it go, or replace it. We do not have to be controlled by the thought that popped into our mind but we are controlled by the thoughts we choose to hold there or allow to remain on our mind.

Habits and Practices

All this contributes to the way you create your attitude of success. The obvious goal is to fill your mind with the thoughts of what you desire. Fill your mind with belief in your confidence to live the life you desire, a life you love. And create the habit of catching negative, disempowering thoughts and replace them with positive, empowering thoughts. Here’s how.

You break an age old habit that is taught and reinforced by nearly everyone in our society. The age old habit is to focus on what to do. You go to bed each night and/or wake each morning and you shape your day around what you have to do. That focus will nearly always be frustrating. You may be asking what else is there to focus on?

The answer is to focus on what you want (not what you want to do), what you want to accomplish? What do you want to achieve? What do you want to create? Then focus on why you want those things. Once you are clear on what you want and why; your to do list becomes the vehicle instead of the goal, itself. Break the habit of the letting your day be dictated by your to do list. Instead let your day be led by what you want to achieve and why you want it. Your days will be more productive, more satisfying and more fulfilling.

Daily Affirmations and the What/Why Focus

Daily affirmations are the method to fill your mind with the exact thoughts that will empower your day. One of your daily affirmations may be remembering what you want and why you want it. For some, daily prayer is their focus and one set of thoughts that fill your mind. Other universal affirmations are; “I am completely capable.” “Money flows to me quickly and easily.” “I like myself unconditionally.” “I am loved and lovable.” “I deserve tremendous success.” Others may be specific; “I am earning two hundred thousand dollars this year.” “I am the number one Agent in my company.” “Seller’s are eager to hire me.” Or personal, “My family comes first.” “My work serves my life, not my life serving my work.”

As you repeat each affirmation or focus on what you want and why, take a moment to hold the image in your mind. Believe it is already yours. Hold the image long enough to actually feel that it is already accomplished. Experience that feeling. This is the actual practice of focusing on what you want, holding it in your mind and adding meaning to it. Results will come naturally. You don’t need to know how you will do a thing. Replace doubt with faith. Then your mind and heart are free to creatively come up with the best methods. Results naturally follow.

Physiology Again

As mentioned earlier, physiology is a main factor in your emotional state. As you experience your daily affirmations stand tall. If you feel like raising your arms toward the sky and letting the power of your faith flow through to you, raise them, smile and feel the glory of your success.

Physiology is a key to shifting your attitude. If you find your mind getting negative during the day, change your physiology. Go for a walk. Eat a piece of your favorite fruit. Simply stand up; clap your hands and begin thinking of your success; jump up and down, pump your fist. Feel the power of your successful future.

Physiology also includes exercise, diet, and sleep. When I see my thoughts go awry, or when I wake up and question my abilities or at some point in the day I find my mind losing belief in myself, the first questions I ask are, “Did I get enough sleep? Have I been exercising regularly? Did I miss meals or eat too much junk food recently?” Most often one of those is the reason. I commit to address the problem. That makes it easy to use positive physiology, focus and meaning to shift my attitude to positive.

In Summary

The most prescribed drugs in the United States are anti-depressants. Clinical depression is a debilitating disorder. At the same time most people are pretty normal when it comes to their attitude. It is perfectly normal to suffer from mild non-clinical depression. Many of my coaching clients who were in that state are now living happier more successful lives simply by employing the strategies above.

Reread the strategies above. Look at your goals, what you want and why. Set goals, or set new specific ones. Repeat your daily affirmations or create new ones. Start every day and focus each day on what you want and why. Make that a habit. Add physiology to your affirmations and change your physiology when your thoughts begin to sour. Look at your diet, exercise, and sleep habits. Make one small improvement. See its positive effect. Then make another.

With practice attitude shifts take no time at all. They happen in an instant. Make your next instant a powerful and positive one because you control it.

Rich Levin is a coach and speaker whose focus is teaching Agents to understand and control their business. Through that understanding achieve exceptional happiness and wealth in their life. Take control of your business, register for a 2009 Strategy Session.

Rich conducts a 15 minute webinar that will start your day with focus 1^st Fifteen Training Webinar every week day morning. Rich is President of Rich Levin’s Success Corps Inc. Contact him at 585-244-2700 or rich@richlevin.com.

There are four distinct skills you need to develop to take full advantage of this tremendous opportunity with buyer leads.

1. Contact the leads.

2. Convert the leads into appointments

3. Develop and conduct a winning buyer presentation.

4. Stay in touch with the leads until they buy from you or you drop them

First you need the habit and discipline of contacting enough of the leads that you generate to reach your goals. Most Agents generate enough leads to reach their next level of production. What they lack is the habit of following up on all the leads they generate.

When you get a lead, call it that minute. If you can’t that minute and most of the time you can. But if you really can’t, call it at the next ten minute break you have in your day.

Now if you are really disciplined and most Agents aren’t, you could set aside time to make lead follow up calls. Most Agents that try this, don’t make the calls immediately and don’t honor the lead follow up times and therefore simply lose lots of leads for lack of follow up. So, I suggest you develop your discipline to call back immediately. If it is an e-mail respond immediately. The point is to make the contact.

The second skill is your ability to convert the lead into an appointment with you. For most Agents, for all but the highest producers this is the ability to convert the lead into an appointment to meet with you in what we call a buyer appointment.

This conversion skill includes the language, the scripts and the approach to get the person wanting to meet with you. You make them see that they will buy a better home for a great price if they meet with you and learn what you have to teach rather than continuing on their own.

When you contact the lead do two things. First give the person the information they want. Second ask them probing question that helps them and you.

Like this, “The price on that property is $249,900. Is that the price range you are in or are you looking higher or lower than that?” Give the information and ask a relevant question.

Or, “That house is 1400 square feet with three bedrooms and one bath. What size home are you looking for?”  Give the information and ask a relevant question.

Continue this process until you feel comfortable with asking for an appointment to proceed.

Like this, “Great, that sounds really doable. Let’s do this. Let’s get together and see if we can find just what you are looking for. I don’t bite I promise. If we hit it off I’d love to help you find the best place to live. If we don’t I promise you’ll at least get some good information and we’ll shake hands and go our separate ways. Honestly, I like the sound of you guys, I think we may hit it off. What evening this week are you free?”

The third skill is the ability to conduct a buyer appointment that educates the buyer in the process, creates tremendous confidence in you and your ability to help them find and purchase the best possible property.

Show them how you are watching out for them and ensuring their success as you describe their process of buying and also so they know what to expect from you. You describe things they probably hadn’t thought of. At the same time you educate them and you distinguish yourself as the type of Agent they want working for them.  Continually ask for their agreement as you go through the process and describe your function.

Like this, “I will pull up everything in the MLS that is even close to your desired home. I have the ability to search over 100 different criteria so I will be completely thorough. How does that sound to you?”

By effectively doing this step

• They will buy faster

• They will be more loyal

• They will be more confident in your advice

• They will be more forgiving if something goes wrong

• They will send you referrals

The fourth and final skill to turn the maximum number of leads to sales is your habit of what we call lead retention. Lead retention means your system of recording the lead’s information and prompting yourself to stay in contact with them until they buy or you choose to drop them.

The key here is to have a simple contact management system. The simplest contact management system is to record each lead on an index card or calendar then prompt yourself to call them.

The most efficient method is to use a contact management system like Top Producer, Microsoft Access, Outlook, ACT or some other system that contains both a database of the information on the lead and a calendar to prompt you to call them.

For most Agents, doubling your business or at least adding fifty percent to your business is possible with this skill. Begin to retain your leads, staying in touch with them by phone in addition to your auto notification by e-mails. Use a contact management system to retain your relationship with the maximum number of leads and your next level will occur.

Of course we all know that you can have these four skills and still not get the job done if you don’t put the skills to use.

If you want to increase your effectiveness at these skills and never get to it and continue to suffer lost leads, disloyal buyers, and continuous disappointment then call me for a free strategic business planning session and we can discuss how to have you start implementing these skills immediately.

Rich Levin is a National Real Estate Authority with over 30 years experience; the last 15 dedicated to coaching and speaking. His specialty is in raising Agent Production while improving quality of life. He has spoken in 38 States at events from small offices to the NAR convention.

Join Rich every morning at 8:45 AM for a free webinar that will start your day with focus and motivation. Rich share a few minutes of his best work on mental and emotional fitness, on every skill in your career from prospecting and presenting to marketing, negotiating, building a team and more. Be careful.  1st Fifteen Webinars are addictive. Once you start participating you will want more. No problem, he is there every weekday at 8:45 am Eastern.  You simply register at www.1stFifteen.com.”

Real Estate Agents are a silent force that fights for freedom.  Real Estate Agents are the most independent working people on earth with more opportunity to earn an exceptional income despite limited formal education or professional background.  (Please do not confuse formal education with intelligence.  Mark Twain’s expression is wholly embraced by many of the most successful Real Estate Agents, “I never let my schooling interfere with my education.”)

The ranks of Real Estate Agents are filling with more and more young people who are smart, educated, and committed to a successful career in Real Estate.  The first generations of Real Estate Agents that left or graduated from college to sell Real Estate are transforming the profession.  It is tempting to think that it is their comfort and embracing of technology that is their strength.  That is only one equal part.  As strong as their facility with technology is, their commitment to the business as a career decision and their continuously seeking better business practices.

The youth and their commitment are not the strongest force leading the economic recovery.  The experienced professionals who have succeeded through recessions in the 90’s, the 80’s, and even the 70’s (still some of them around), these veterans of previous difficult markets realize that the downturn is temporary and on the other side is a strong, healthy market. 

In August of 2008 an article of mine (We’ve Hit Bottom… Hooray!) was widely published in which I wrote, “In the hardest hit markets that experienced the greatest price declines … may take another twelve months for enough of the excess inventory to be absorbed for those markets to experience growing appreciation.  On the other hand a rapidly growing number of buyers are coming back into the market anticipating that the bottom may have arrived.  These buyers are getting great values while they are absorbing the inventory.  These buyers are actually creating the future value increases that they perceive. 

Let’s be realistic.  Things don’t turn completely around in one year.  We are not going to immediately, see the kind of demand and seller’s market that create double-digit appreciation this year (2008).  We will see the end of price depreciation and mild growing appreciation in market after market.

As one market after another recovers there will be increasing appreciation.  In your market sometime between 2009 and 2011 you will see another seller’s market.  In the hotter markets you will again see double-digit appreciation.”

The above article was written before the foreclosure bombshell and the banking crisis.  It is amazing to me that despite the tremendous numbers of foreclosures, the Ponzi scheme victims, and the extent of the banking crises have not delayed the residential Real Estate recovery.  The time frame prediction of the above August 2008 article is still on track. 

It is obvious that residential Real Estate leads the economy. Bad residential lending took this economy down. It is the active Real Estate market this spring in most markets that will bring it back.

You will hear the stimulus package and all kinds of other reasons for the end of the recession. That is political spin.  Notice that the health of the residential Real Estate market precedes and leads the recovery.

How can that be?  Because each time a house sells, tens of thousands of dollars go directly into the local marketplace for both closing costs and home improvement.  The fact that this happens in every community across the country makes it obvious that residential Real Estate has the strongest and most immediate influence on the economy.

Thank goodness that the NAR lobby was strong enough to get the residential benefits of the stimulus package to the Real Estate market immediately. 

Young and old, rookies and the most experienced, you as Real Estate Agents are doing more for recovery by honestly and optimistically matching Sellers and Buyers; and making this a strong spring for yourselves.  It is pretty cool, (a reflection of my age) that you can do something so good for you and your family and it is the best possible thing you could do for the recovery, the economy and the country. 

Rich Levin is a National Real Estate Authority with over 30 years experience; the last 15 dedicated to coaching and speaking.  His specialty is in raising Agent Production while improving quality of life.  He has spoken in 38 States at events from small offices to the NAR convention. Join our Success Community to receive more articles, tips and information. Contact us at 585-244-2700 or visit http://www.RichLevin.com.