In This Issue...

• Words from the President
• How to Engage a FSBO - The Right Way!
• Become the Expert - And Make More Money!
• Stages of a Champion Team - Built the Right Way!

Words from the President

Most agents hold top-producing agents in the highest regard.  There is often this status that is given to a top-producing agent that is almost God-like.  Having been put on a pedestal for many years during my sales career, let me give you an undeniable truth.  Each and every one of us has a top-producing agent inside of us trying to get out.  Each person has the God given ability to produce at a stratospheric level.  Top producers are ordinary people who happen to be doing extraordinary things.  There are three components that enable top producing agents to excel in their business.

1. They are highly organized in certain facets of their business.  Organization is derived from solid systems and procedures.  McDonalds’ success does not come from having the best food in town.  It is built on two fundamental principles: consistency and systems.  You can get a Big Mac in Los Angeles, California; Portland, Oregon; or Paris, France, and it will always be the same.  The cost will be different, but the taste and quality will be the same.  Why?  Because the systems and procedures they use in preparation and cooking are consistent.  They do the same thing over and over to prepare a Big Mac.

What if your business was able to run like that?  What if, when a lead came in, the steps of processing and follow-up were exactly the same each time?  Could you eventually develop a business that repeated itself with the same results each time?  I know you could.

To create a solid, repeatable business, organization is a must.  Organization is derived from creating systems for every aspect of one’s business – systems for leads, past clients, offers, listings, listing presentations, prospecting, escrows, and anything else that you do regularly in your business.

2. Managing your staff.  Top producers create solid teams.  They create a team of specialists at every position.  The world has gone the way of specialization.  Successful teams have specialists for specific functions.  Look at the NFL in the last few years.  Forty years ago, players played both offense and defense.  Today we have nickel backs, designated pass, rushing lineman, run stopping lineman, third down running backs, etc.  Most successful teams have specialized players.  Creating and managing this menagerie is the key.

The most important key to management is to hire the right people.  Make sure your staff has the characteristics and qualities you desire before hiring them.  If you expect a strong work ethic from your staff, then you better hire someone who has one.  You can’t teach, train, or coach your staff into having a strong work ethic. 

3. Strong prioritizing skills.  Most of us don’t get everything accomplished we want to daily.  We only make a dent in our task lists.  Prioritizing is critical for us to move forward daily towards success.  Prioritize and organize your day before leaving the office the day before.  Make sure you work to complete the high payoff activities daily.  Don’t neglect to do the things daily that drive your business.  Skip making the flyer and make sure you work to generate new business daily.  My highest priority was generating new business daily.  If I accomplished nothing else, but I did the daily requirements of generating new business, it was a great day.

   To get the priorities of your staff in line with yours have them make a task list before they leave for the day.  Have them put it on your desk, so you can reprioritize the activities.  Often, a staff member will do priorities five, ten, and eleven before they do one, two, and three.  Ensure their production by helping them prioritize.  Reduce your frustration of thinking they are not getting anything accomplished by helping them do the high priorities daily.

To your achievement of success in life,

Dirk Zeller
CEO
Real Estate Champions, Inc

P.S. The three areas that we'll focus our time on today are How to Engage a FSBO, Become the Expert, and Stages of a Champion Team. Any of these articles could help you change your life in 2007 if you'll read, absorb, and use the information. I challenge you to take a few minutes of your time to read this material. If you don't have time now, print them out and take them with you to read between appointments.

"Swanepoel Real Estate
Trends Report"

During the past year, the real estate industry has experienced unprecedented change and significant innovation. You’ve no doubt experienced it first hand.

The key to being successful in real estate, or any other career for that matter, is staying apprised of the trends in your industry. If you can see where things are heading, you can utilize new opportunities before your competition.

• Beating your competition to the next wave of opportunities
• Avoiding fads that could set your business back years
• Gaining valuable insights about revealing strategies you can use right now

Learn More Here

How to Engage a FSBO - The Right Way!

FSBO sellers will reject you. Remember, they would prefer not to use your services. But if you maintain a steady, professional relationship, offering help and staying in contact for four to five weeks, you will usually be able to win an interview. From there, a listing follows.

Increase your odds of success by taking these two precautions:

1. Limit the number of FSBOs you cultivate. Focus only on the best clients.
2. Avoid prospects with low motivation or unrealistically high price expectations. These sellers are usually the most toxic, and too often, they will try to take their frustrations out on you.

FSBOs fundamentally turn into a game of lead follow-up. You need to personally and regularly contact your FSBO leads to discover their motivation and qualifications, book a face-to-face meeting, disqualify prospects as necessary, provide regular service and communication, and schedule a presentation appointment. Then you need to repeat the service and communication steps several times weekly until the listing is in hand. 

To make personal contact, begin by asking the FSBO seller if you can come by and see the home. You can ask them in a few different ways. You can explain that you want to keep abreast of the regional housing inventory; you can say that you are working with buyers who may be interested; you can present yourself as a potential investor; when you can, you can use the “reverse-no” technique. Following are sample scripts for each approach.

Script for keeping up with the inventory:

“Mr. Seller, your home is located in my core area of sales.  Because it is, I would like to come by and preview your home.  Would there be a time on __________ or __________ to do that this week?”

Script for working with the prospective buyer:

“Ms. Seller, I understand you are selling your home on your own. Let me ask you this: are you cooperating with real estate agents?  What I mean is, if a real estate agent brought you a qualified buyer at an agreeable price to you, would you be willing to pay a partial commission?

We are working with a few buyers for your area that we have not been able to place yet. May I come by on __________ or __________ later this week to see your home?”

When you use the above approach, understand that you are not interested in reducing your commission. What you’re really trying to do is achieve a face-to-face appointment to collect more information on their sellers’ motivation in order to determine the probability of securing a listing in the future.

Script for a potential investor:

“Mr. Seller, your home is located in a solid area for real estate investment. I was wondering if I could come by to see your home as a principle for possible purchase and to see if it is a property that would meet my investment needs.  Would __________ or __________ be better for you?”

In using the above approach, realize that the key phrase is investment needs.  You will rarely find a FSBO that will meet your investment needs. My personal investment need is a home that can be acquired at a 70% discount below fair market value.  Most FSBOs are trying to sell their home at 110% of fair market value. This technique does get you in the door to see the home and talk with them.

Script for a reverse-no:

“Ms. Seller, would you be offended if I came by to take a quick look at your home?”

The reverse-no technique can be used with any script. It capitalizes on the normal reflexive human reaction of “no” in order to achieve a positive response. It opens the door to you to then set an appointment.

FSBO Survey Script

Hi, this is __________ from __________.  I am looking for the owner of the home for sale.

Your home is in my core area.  I am doing a quick survey of the FSBOs in this area.  May I take a few minutes to ask you some questions?

The ad in the paper said that you had _____ bedrooms and _____ bathrooms.

• Do you have a two level or one level home?
• Are all the bedrooms on the same floor?
• Are they good sized rooms?
• How is the condition of the kitchen?
• Are the bathrooms in good condition?
• Can you describe your yard for me?
• Is there anything else you feel I should know?
• It sounds like you have a great home; how long have you lived there?
• Why are you selling at this time?
• Where are you hoping to move to now?
• What is your time frame to get there?
• How did you happen to select that area to move to?
• How did you determine your initial asking price for the home?
• What techniques are you using for exposure and marketing of your home?
• Are you aware that over 86% of the buyers for properties begin on the internet now?
• If there was a clear advantage for you in using me to market and expose your home, and it cost you very little, would you consider it?
• Let’s simplify.  Set a time to get together for fifteen to twenty minutes, so I can see your home and understand your objectives.  I have time available __________, or would __________ be better for you?

FSBO relationships are built over time. By introducing yourself to the owners the first weekend their FSBO is announced, before the masses start calling on Monday, you create a good connection. By sending them tools, educational materials, free reports, and forms, you become an ally. By taking a personal interest in them and their situation, you create a solid connection that, in many cases, pays off when the owners decide to go with an agent they know and trust – preferably you.

Over the course of building a relationship with the owners, you’ll be able to get them to understand that, in every real estate transaction, a commission is paid. In the end, FSBO sellers don’t “save” the commission. Rather, they try to earn the commission by doing an agent’s job. In doing so, they spend their money and time to perform, as best they can, the duties of an agent. Those duties include exposing the home through marketing, presenting the home to buyers, building a sense of buyer urgency in order to prompt an offer, scheduling home inspections, handling qualification checks with the lender, supervising repairs, and facilitating the closing.

Not only is a lot of work involved in earning the real estate commission but FSBO owners unwittingly let buyers basically steal the commission through under-priced offers. The people who shop FSBOs don’t do it for their health. They want to secure a low price and a high initial equity position. In the process, they set out to “earn” the commission, and often do.

If you'd like step-by-step strategies & tactics for Buyer Conversion (including over 45 Scripts & Dialouges) check out my training program "Convert & Commit the Buyer Every Time!™"... check it out here For help with Sellers see "How to Create & Deliver a Dynamic Listing Presentation!™"... check it out here.

If you're tired of fighting for every listing and would rather have a system that takes you completely through the entire Listing Process, so that you walk out with the listing contract signed, you've got to check out...

How to Create and Deliver a
Dynamic Listing Presentation™

Get the Listing Every Time with these Step-By-Step Instructions, Forms, Handouts, and Scripts.

The difference between getting the listing and walking out with "We'll think it over and get back to you" is all in your listing presentation. If you walk in with Dirk’s time-tested & proven (by 1000's of Agents) listing presentation, you’ll walk out with the listing.

What would your life be like if you had all the winning scripts and dialogues to help you nail the listing presentation every time? Even better than that, what if you had the right seller handouts and scripts to help you get the listing presentation appointment?

The 'How to Create and Deliver a Dynamic Listing Presentation™' Series will teach you how to:
	• Get Control of the Listing Appointment from the Start • Ask the 9 Critical Questions Every Listing Agent Must Know • Qualify Like a Master Listing Agent (Save Tons of Time) • Use a 5 Step (60 Day) Action Plan for a Perfect Listing Presentation • Use the Master Coach's Top-10 Presentation Evaluation Questions • Discover the Secrets Hidden in Your Prospect's Objections that Will End Your Fear of Objections Forever • Defeat Every Seller Objection in 6 Steps • Use 10 Questions to Isolate the Seller's Objection • Find the REAL Reason Behind a Seller's Objection • Plus much more, including 60 pages of tools, handouts (the same ones Dirk uses), scripts, and dialogues you can use as your own.
You'll receive:
	• 4 Audio CDs • 1 CD-ROM Workbook

I Want to Learn How to Get The Listing on the First Appointment Every Time!

Become the Expert - And Make More Money!

Do you have the skills that will make you massively successful?  Are you making the most of them?  The people who are compensated the best in life are highly skilled and highly specialized.  They perform few functions, but the ones they do are performed exceedingly well, and they are paid handsomely for performing them.

Let me share an example.  When my father had open-heart surgery, he was blessed to have an excellent heart surgeon.  That was exactly what this doctor did -- heart surgery and only heart surgery.  Of course, there were many other steps to the process, and the surgeon had a skilled team to handle those other steps.  There was an anesthesiologist who put my father to sleep.  There was another surgeon who retrieved a vein out of my father’s leg and prepared it for by-pass.  There was another surgeon who opened the chest cavity and readied the heart.  After all those functions were complete, the heart surgeon stepped in for his part.  He completed his sections of the surgery and then left the rest of the team to complete the operation.  What if we had the skills and the systems to run our businesses that way?  What would our production look like if we did?  How balanced would our lives be with this type of a business?  It is truly an exciting thought.

If you had that level of sales skills and consultation skills and had a strong team that would enable you to operate your business on that system, you would be paid better than that heart surgeon is paid.  You have a bigger market to sell your services in than a heart surgeon has; there are more people who truly need your services than there are who need heart surgery. The question is whether you are truly taking advantage of that market and preparing yourself to be a leader in it.  Strong, specialized skills and a team with the skills to support your work will free your time, so you can serve an increasing share of the market and enjoy a healthy personal life, as well. Imagine the life and the business you would have if you operated in this fashion.

What is your area of specialty in real estate?  Where do your strongest skills lie?  We all have exceptional skills in specific areas.  When we know what they are, and are able to focus our efforts to make the best use of them, our clients benefit, and so do we.  Specialization is very much a fact of life in the world around us.  We see it more and more, not only in medicine, but in law, accounting, insurance, and even sports.

Let me share another example.  When the NFL was first formed, players played both offense and defense.  But, within a few years, we had players playing only offense or only defense.  Starting in the 90’s, we had specialists: designated pass rushers; nickel backs; pass-catching running backs; blocking running backs.  Each NFL team may have twenty guys, each of whom is on the team for only one function.  They are specialists in the career of professional football.

To create a specialized, team-enhanced real estate business, you must first evaluate what you are skilled at doing, what you enjoy doing, and what needs to be done regardless of your specific skills and interests.  Separate out those activities that you really dislike and those you are less skilled at doing.  Then construct a plan that will, over time, remove those activities and delegate them to skilled and enthusiastic staff members.

For example, maybe you like meeting with clients but really don’t enjoy the escrow process.  Solidify your escrow processing system, so a staff member can take it over, freeing you up to do the activities that you do enjoy.  Or maybe you have a high level of skill in qualifying the buyer but don’t feel highly skilled at showing property.  Set appointments in the office to qualify the buyers, but have someone else show property to them.  The possibilities are endless.

If you'd like to learn more positioning techniques, buy my book "The Champion Real Estate Agent^®"... check it out here.

Stages of a Champion Team - Built the Right Way!

Applying your goals, dreams, production, service model, and sales team in an organizational chart creates a more organized flow to your business.  It also helps you avoid what most agents engage in, which I call real estate remodeling.  The vast majority of agents who are building teams are in the process of real estate remodeling.  Some are in that state constantly because of lack of an organizational structure.  Most are in it every year or every few years.

Real estate remodeling is when you are making large, sweeping course and strategy changes in your business.  You can make those changes in the sales process, marketing strategy, or client service, but they are especially made in the team format regarding people and organizational structure.

When we build our business based on our annual goals, as most agents do, we set ourselves up for real estate remodeling.  We select an income goal for the year.  Then, if we are reasonably organized, we create a rudimentary plan to achieve that income goal.  All of our work, marketing, sales efforts, staffing, and structure are connected to that goal.  If our goal is $300,000 in income for the year, we build the structure, systems, and team that can hit that $300,000 number.  Whether we achieve the goal or not is almost immaterial to our discussion.  Your attitude will be better if you hit the goal, but you are facing the same problem whether you hit or miss the goal.  You have built an overall business with systems, staffing, and services to gross $300,000 in sales.

When the calendar gets ready to turn to the new year, you might decide to earn $500,000 this next year.  You have to throw out the $300,000 model almost completely.  It is really of little use to you because you and your team will need to change activities, skills, management, coaching, marketing, lead conversion rates, lead volume, customer service, and many more items in order to reach the $500,000 mark.  You are clearly engaging in real estate remodeling.  If you follow some of the following steps I lay out, you can avoid wholesale changes and large course corrections.

It’s as if you are the captain of a mighty sailing vessel.  You are maneuvering the helm of this huge ship with a large crew on board in close quarters.  You have well verified charts and maps, and you are highly skilled with a sexton to determine your exact position by the stars.  You know exactly where the seaport is that you are sailing toward, and the seas are favorable and the winds brisk.  The skies are clear, so you can see the stars making it easy to use your sexton.  You will only be making small corrections of a few degrees because you are so well prepared and clear in your objectives of reaching a certain port.

There are eight stages to organizational growth for a real estate agent.  We must build and tear down problems as we hit goals:

You are the sole employee of your business.  You are the chief cook and bottle washer.  If you don’t do it, it doesn’t get done.

You will have to focus on prospecting, lead follow-up, driving the leads to face-to-face appointments, securing listings, writing buyer representative agreements, and doing all the administration before, during, and after the close.

The first step to having a team is hiring that first administrative assistant.  Their purpose is to remove as much of the production supporting activities as possible from your plate.  Your job is to spend more time in the prospecting, lead generation, and lead follow-up activities.

This is where the split in your business occurs.  You now have two administrative assistants.  The segmentation of responsibilities is best if one handles everything before the contract offer, and the other handles the administration after a contract has been written.  They both handle buyers and sellers.

I really believe that the first two hires, if you really want a Champion Agent’s Team should be administrative.

Stage 4 - You and closing coordinator and listing coordinator and buyer’s agent

Once you are solid in administration, this is where you branch out into revenue producing assistants (buyer’s agents).  If you aren’t solid administratively before you add your first buyer’s agent, you will be pulled regularly into administration.  You will work long hours trying to help the buyer’s agent close deals where you are getting possibly 50% of the gross revenue while assuming 100% of the expenses.

Stage 5 - You and closing coordinator and listing coordinator and buyer’s agent and field coordinator

At this stage, you can have multiple buyer’s agents working for you.  Your two administrative team members are so valuable that, whenever they are out of the office, turmoil is created.  By bringing on a filed coordinator, you will be delegating the pictures, room measuring, lock box reading, flyer delivery, directional sign straightening, delivery, and errands to the lowest paid competent person.  At this point in your business, your best admin people need to be literally chained to their desks and phones for maximum production.  The field coordinator is probably a part-time position.

Stage 6 - You and closing coordinator and listing coordinator and buyer’s agent and field coordinator and lead manager

The addition of a lead manager position to the team is essential to enable a team to become a Champion Team.  One of the largest problems large teams have is lead conversion.  This includes the management and categorization of leads and accountability of how they are worked, called, contacted, and converted to face-to-face interview appointments.  The volume of leads that are lost, dropped, forgotten, mis-categorized, wasted, and blown is staggering.  It’s the biggest expense or loss for most large teams.

Stage 7 - You and closing coordinator and listing coordinator and buyer’s agent and head buyer’s agent and field coordinator and lead manager

The next stage is elevating one of the buyer’s agents manager.  They will oversee the other buyer’s agents.  This person does all the initial training and ongoing training for all of the buyer’s agents.  They work in concert with the lead coordinator to hold the buyer’s agents accountable.

Stage 8 - All of the above and CEO

This person replaces you as the chief operator.  They oversee all operations of your business.  You then move into an advisory role in your business’ day-to-day operations.

If you'd like more information on how you can build your own real estate team, get your free copy of "The Champion Real Estate Team™ Guide"... here.

Help Your Friends

If you have friends and colleagues who would enjoy the Coaches Corner™ please forward it and invite them to subscribe. We appreciate your help since your recommendation is how we grow.

Real Estate Champions is committed to partner with you to create abundance in your business and life.

REALTOR^® is a Registered Trademark of National Association of Realtors, Inc.

I Want to Learn More

Teleseminars
• TBA

Champion Performer Series
• Determining a Home's Ideal List Price

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

• Prospecting?

• Lead Generation?

• Listing Presentations?

• Scripts & Dialogues?

• Objection Handling?

• Converting?

Need an affordable, turnkey, website? Test Drive the Champion Power Play System™ Today!