In This Issue...

• Words From the President
• Acquiring Knowledge about Your Marketplace - Exploit It
• Developing the Winning Mindset - Get the Edge

Words From the President

Thanks for joining me today on the journey toward your success as a Real Estate Agent.

Before we enter into the "Golden Nuggets of Real Estate Wisdom" (as one of my readers called them last week), I'd like to ask a favor of you.

It's not a personal favor you have to do for me. I'd like you to do me favor but actually do it for yourself (if that makes sense).

Take the next minute of your life and celebrate victory. Celebrate & give thanks for a victory that you've had in your life this week. Any victory will do.

Did you close a tough deal this week? Did you get a listing on the books? Did you commit to exercising again and made it to the gym? Any victory, business or personal, will do... just pick one.

Now take a deep breath, close your eyes, and allow yourself to enjoy this victory. Think about all that it took for you to accomplish this victory and the joy you are feeling right now because you did it. Enjoy this celebration for a minute or two...

I'd like you to try to remember to celebrate your personal victories along your way through life. We all (me included) forget to, and it could be a detriment to our lives.

Trust me on this, as I'm reading this with you this morning, I am also celebrating a recent victory (the release of my new book) with you.

To your enjoyment of your personal victories,

Dirk Zeller
CEO
Real Estate Champions, Inc

P.S. For more information on my new book, the one with all my advanced tactics, click here.

Acquiring Knowledge about Your Marketplace - Exploit It

Think of your marketplace as your playing field, not unlike an athlete views a football field, basketball court, or hockey rink. The better you know every inch of that playing field, the more you can exploit it to your advantage. 

Before I became a REALTOR®, in my early twenties, I was a racquetball professional. I played hundreds of tournaments over my sports career, and my best games were always at my home club. There, we had a court with floor-to-ceiling glass on the right side and back wall, making it particularly difficult to see in the back right–hand corner where the two walls of glass converged.

When players came for tournaments at my club, they struggled to pick up the ball in that corner – giving me what you might call a significant home field advantage. I rarely lost a match on that court.

Real estate is like any other competitive endeavor. If you learn all there is to know about your playing field, you’ll acquire a competitive advantage that will distance you from the competition and build the basis of your success.

The most challenging aspect of gaining market knowledge is determining what facts to collect and where to find the information you need. Fortunately, a number of readily accessible resources are available to REALTORS®. All you have to do is contact the right people and ask the right questions. The following sections will help you on your data quest.

All professional agents belong to REALTOR® associations that compile and make available a wealth of statistical information. The facts you can obtain from your local board include:

• The number of agents working in your marketplace. This information helps you understand your competitive arena. It also allows you to track whether your competition has expanded or receded over recent years.

• The production of the average agent in terms of units and volume sold.  By obtaining this information and comparing it with your own production units and volume, you will be able to contrast your performance against the other agents on your local board. This information will be useful in your effort to calculate your share of the market. It also helps you understand how you stack up against the other agents your prospective customer might be considering. 

• Experience levels of agents in your field. Most Boards of REALTORS® keep information regarding the percentage of agents recently licensed and those with three, five, and ten years in the business. This information provides you with another factor against which to measure your competitive position.

Meet with the executive director of your local Board of REALTORS® to learn the extent of information that is available to you, how frequently new research is released, and how you can obtain copies for your ongoing review. 

The Multiple Listing Service, commonly called the MLS, keeps statistics of all the listings and sales in your area that are processed through the MLS. 

The MLS does not cover every sale due to the fact that some sales bypass the system. Often, new construction builders, particularly in very robust markets, don’t submit their inventory into MLS. Agents also sometimes sell properties themselves or in-house, and those sales are not submitted to MLS.  However, the MLS, in most markets, covers more than 95% of all marketplace sales, and it represents the surest indicator of real estate activity in your region.

The MLS can give you key market statistics including:

• Days on the market averages
• Listing price to sale price ratios
• Listings taken versus listings sold ratios
• Geographically active markets inside your service area

Nearly all REALTORS® recognize the MLS for its significant role in increasing communication and exposure of real estate properties. Fewer REALTORS® recognize the MLS for its powerful but under-utilized role in reporting trends and performance of agents, companies, and subsets of the marketplace. Access and put this information to work to your advantage.

There are a number of national resources that you can access to obtain a wealth of knowledge and statistical trends. The best is the National Association of REALTORS® (NAR), which produces some wonderful studies, reports, and market statistics that most agents never use.  The truth is most agents don’t even know they are available.

Their monthly “Real Estate Outlook” publication provides a national view of real estate sales: What has happened in terms of sales, days on the market, what people are purchasing, what financing they are using, emerging trends, and predictions for the future.  This is a powerful tool in the hands of a successful agent. If you aren’t currently receiving and reading it, put it into your information arsenal immediately.

They also conduct annual surveys and studies of home sellers and homebuyers. They delve into why consumers selected particular agents, what services they sought from agents, and what geographic areas, home amenities, and features caused them to buy.  This type of knowledge will enable you to provide the highest level of counsel and value to your clients.

NAR also issues reports on second home markets, investment properties, financing options, and many other topics. It’s one of the best services that NAR provides, but it’s the service that agents use the least. Make yourself an exception and dive into this deep pool of information.

Visit the NAR website at www.REALTOR.org to obtain an overview of the association, to access quick links to useful sites including REALTOR® Magazine Online, and to subscribe to receive e-mail updates on real estate topics and statistics.

Consult your broker about company-compiled statistics on regional trends and also on your firm’s market share and market penetration. Especially if you work for a regional or national real estate company or franchise, your organization has likely commissioned studies that will be useful to your fact-gathering efforts.

For more information on how to get the listing on the 1^st appointment... Click Here

"Getting the Listing on
the First Appointment"

Tele-Seminar -


Thursday, November 30^th
10:00am PT • 11:00am MT • 12:00noon CT • 1:00pm ET

Run Time: 90 min, including LIVE Q&A with Dirk Zeller

Seating is limited to only 250. Reserve your place NOW while we still have room.

“We are already putting into action a number of the ideas we learned from the seminar. In my three years in the upper-end real estate industry, my sales have doubled each year.

Last year, my transactions totaled $13 mil. Utilizing Dirk's system, we anticipate (and are counting on!) an increase of at least 50% this year over last year.

Thank you in advance for your part in our success!”

– Elaine Bierstock, Lyon Real Estate, Sacramento, CA


Get More Information Now!

Developing the Winning Mindset - Get the Edge

One of the key characteristics that successful people have is a winning mindset.  They have learned over time to program their mind for success.  That’s what gives them the edge in competitive situations.  This mindset allows them to hit the winning shot at the buzzer, sink the crucial putt on the 18th hole to win the tournament, or get the listing signed . . . even when they are up against the best Agents in town.  The question is why do some people have it and others don’t?  How can you ensure that you acquire the winning mindset?  Let me take you through the development of a winning mindset.

1. Record and replay the tape: Now, I don’t mean that you have to record yourself on a recorder.  You do need to write down on paper (and track) your victories.  We all have a lot of victories daily, weekly, and monthly.  We just have a hard time remembering them.  If we record them, we can review them during the challenges we are facing.  When we lose our self-confidence, we can build it through reviewing our past victories.  A lot of our victories, we will find, come out of a very challenging problem or struggle we are having.  This review will also show us the direct correlation between the challenges we face and the victories we have.  The key is to review them regularly.  Review them, so you can invest them to pay dividends today – and tomorrow.

2. Understand the game you are playing:  The highest peak performers understand the game they are playing – how to score and win.  To master the game of real estate, you must understand that the primary rule in the game of real estate is: There is no second place.  When I was younger, I played racquetball professionally.  I always had a philosophy that if I finished second, it was the same as losing.  I could have won all the other matches to the final, but losing the final was as bad as losing in the first round.  For me, there was no second place.  Real Estate is the same way.  Either you list the home, or you don’t.  Either you sell the buyer a home, or you don’t.  Have you ever gotten paid for coming in second?  When the seller says to you, “It was between you and another Agent to list our home, and we chose the other Agent”, you don’t get paid – they do.  Second place does not make the mortgage payment.  Make sure you are playing to win.  Understand the stark reality of the business that we are in.  Develop the focus that you need to compete at the highest level.

3. The secret edge: Believe in yourself.  The best of the best in life believe in themselves.  Michael Jordan believed to his core that he was the best.  His belief, and his sheer will to win, created the best basketball player ever.  I read an article about a survey in which professional golfers were asked, “If you had one putt to win a major championship, who would you pick to putt it?”  Almost all of them chose Jack Nickalaus.  Why, because he knew he was the best and had the ability to will the ball into the hole.  When I sold real estate, I truly believed I was the best Agent for the job.  That belief extended beyond just my market place.  The question is what do you believe?  When your confidence goes up, your competence goes up at the same time.  Program your mind, through affirmations, that you are the best. Say aloud daily: “I am a great salesperson”, “I am the best Agent someone can hire to do the job”, “I provide exceptional service to my clients”.  You must drive your belief deep.  It truly is the secret weapon for all peak performers. 

We must invest time daily to develop the winning mindset.  Take the time to record your victories.  Review them daily, weekly, and monthly.  Work to improve your belief in yourself.  We all came from the same creator.  He didn’t create any junk.  You have it inside you to be exceptional.  The secret edge is belief.

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Get Dirk Zeller’s Award Winning Books and Download Real Estate Champions PDF Ebooks!

The Champion Real Estate Agent Now In-Stock!
Here First!

by Dirk Zeller

Success As a Real Estate Agent For Dummies® Dummies Now In-Stock!
Here First!

by Dirk Zeller

Your 1st Year in Real Estate: Making the Transition from Total Novice to Successful Professional
by Dirk Zeller

Jump Start Your Production: The key to success and having a strategically strong year.

Blueprint for Success: Reach peak performance in your life.

Successful Selling in Tough Times and Tough Markets: Skills, mindsets and concepts that allow you to close sales even in difficult circumstances.

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• Getting the Listing on the 1st Appointment - October

Streaming Audio is a great, easy way to learn on the go.

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How to Increase Your Income by $100K: Dirk exposes secrets of these Top Producers.

Double, Double: Learn the skills and techniques to double your hourly rate within 6 months.

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